^'- 


o:S 


Srom  t^e  £t6targ  of 

Q&cqueaf^b  615  ^im  fo 
f^e  £i6rarg  of 

(Princeton  C^eofogtcctf  ^eminarg 

BX  9178  .047  C5 
Olyphant,  Vernon  Murray, 

1860-1893. 
Christ  our  life 


SERMONS 


CHRIST    OUR    LIFE 


SERMONS 


V.    M.    OLYPHANT 


^ 


NEW  YORK 
ANSON  D.  F.  RANDOLPH  &  COMPANY 

(IXCORPORATED) 

182   Fifth   Avenue 


Copyright,    1893, 
By  V.  M.  Olyphant. 


Miiibrrsitg  Press: 
John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge,  U.S.A. 


COXTEjS^TS. 


Page 

I.     The  Principal  Thing 9 

Wisdom  is  the  principal  thing;  therefore  get  wisdom. 
—  Proverbs  iv.  7. 

11.     Steadfastness 25 

Take  heed,  brethren,  lest  there  be  in  an}'  of  you  an  evil 
heart  of  unbelief,  in  departing  from  the  living  God. 
But  exhort  one  another  daily,  while  it  is  called  To- 
day; lest  any  of  you  be  hardened  through  the  deceit- 
fulness  of  sin.  For  we  are  made  partakers  of  Christ, 
if  we  hold  the  beginning  of  our  confidence  stedfast 
unto  the  end.  — Hebrews  iii.  12-14. 

III.  Disregard  of  Evidence 39 

And  he  said  unto  him,  If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the 
prophets,  neither  would  they  be  persuaded,  though  one 
rose  from  the  dead.  —  Luke  xvi.  31. 

IV.  The  Unchangeable  Issue  of  Good  and  Evil     51 

But  as  for  me,  my  feet  were  almost  gone;  my  steps  had 
well  nigh  slipped.  For  I  was  envious  at  the  foolish, 
when  I  saw  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked.  —  Psalm 
Ixxiii.  2,  3. 


iv  Contents. 

Page 

V.  The     Presence     of     God     the     Believer's 

Security 59 

Have  not  I  commanded  theeV  Be  strong  and  of  good 
courage;  be  not  afraid,  neither  be  thou  dismayed, 
for  the  Lord  th}-  God  is  with  thee  withersoever  thou 
goest.  —Joshua  i.  9. 

VI.  The   Triumph    of   Personal    Faith    in    the 

Midst  of  National  Judgments      ...     71 

Wherefore  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord,  ye  scornful  men, 
that  rule  this  people  which  is  in  Jerusalem,  because 
3'e  have  said,  We  have  made  a  covenant  with  death, 
and  with  hell  are  we  at  agreement;  when  the  over- 
flowing scourge  shall  pass  through,  it  shall  not  come 
unto  us ;  for  we  have  made  lies  our  refuge,  and  under 
falsehood  have  we  hid  ourselves:  Tiiercfore  thus  saith 
the  Lord  God,  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  for  a  foundation 
a  stone,  a  tried  stone,  a  precious  corner-stone,  a  sure 
foundation:  he  that  believeth  shall  not  make  haste. 
And  I  will  make  judgment  the  line,  and  righteous- 
ness the  pUunmet:  and  the  hail  shall  sweep  away  the 
refuge  of  lies,  and  the  waters  shall  overflow  the  hid- 
ing-place. And  your  covenant  with  death  shall  be 
disnnnulled,  and  your  agreement  with  hell  shall  not 
stand;  when  the  overflowing  scourge  shall  pass 
through,  then  ye  shall  be  trodden  down  by  it.  — 
Isaiah  xxviii.  14-18. 

VII.     The  Life  to  Come       85 

If  anv  man  would  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself, 
and  take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me.  For  whoso- 
ever would  save  his  life  shall  lose  it:  and  whosoever 
shall  lose  his  life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it.  —  Mat- 
thew xvi.  2i,  25;  Mark  viii.  34,  35. 


Contents. 


Page 

I.     Opposition  to  Truth 99 

But  now  ye  seek  to  kill  me,  a  man  that  hath  told  you 
the  truth. — John  viii.  40. 

11.  Salvation  for  Sinners 119 

Faithful  is  the  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation, 
that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners; 
of  whom  I  am  chief. —  1  Timothy  i   15. 

III.  Christ  our  Life 129 

I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches.  — John  xv.  5. 

IV.  Love  of  Righteousness 143 

Thou  hast  loved  righteousness,  and  hated  iniquity, 
therefore  God,  thy  God,  hath  anointed  thee  with  the 
oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows.  —  Hebrews  i.  9 

V.     The  Gospel  for  All 157 

And  he  (Peter)  said  unto  them,  Ye  know  how  that  it  is 
an  unlawful  thing  for  a  man  that  is  a  Jew  to  keep 
company,  or  come  unto  one  of  another  nation;  but 
God  hath  shewed  me  that  I  should  not  call  any  man 
common  or  unclean.  Therefore  came  I  unto  you 
without  gainsaying,  as  soon  a~;  I  was  sent  for:  I  ask 
therefore  for  what  intent  ye  have  sent  for  me  ?  And 
Cornelius  said,  .  .  .  Now  therefore  are  we  all  here 
present  before  God,  to  hear  all  things  that  are  com- 
manded thee  of  God.  Then  Peter  opened  his  mouth, 
and  said.  Of  a  truth,  I  perceive  that  God  is  no  respecter 
of  persons:  But  in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  Him, 
and  worketh  righteousness,  is  accepted  with  Him. 
The  word  which  God  sent  unto  the  children  of  Israel, 
preaching  peace  by  Jesus  Christ  (He  is  Lord  of  all): 
Th;it  word.  I  say,  \q  know,  .  .  .  While  Peter  yet 
spake  .  .  .  the  Holy  Ghost  fell  on  all  them  which 
heard  the  word.  .  .  .  Then  answered  Peter,  Can  any 
man  forbid  water,  that  these  should  not  be  baptized, 
which  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost  as  well  as 
we?  — Acts  x.  28-47. 


vi  Contents. 

Page 

VI.     Thankfulness 1^7 

Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in 
heavenly  places  in  Christ.  ...  In  whom  we  have 
redenii)tion  throuj,^h  His  blood,  the  forgiveness  of 
sins,  according  to  the  riches  of  His  grace,  wherein 
He  hath  abounded  toward  us  in  all  wisdom  and  pru- 
dence. .  .  .  And  you  hath  He  quickened  who  were 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  wherein  in  time  past  ye 
walked  according  to  the  course  of  this  world  ;  accord- 
ing to  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,  the  spirit 
that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience. 
.  .  .  But  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  His  great 
love  wherewith  He  loved  us,  even  when  we  were  dead 
in  sins,  hath  quickened  us  together  with  Christ  (b}' 
grace  ye  are  saved),  and  hath  raised  us  up  together, 
and  made  us  sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ 
Jesus.  —  Epiiesians  i.  3,  7,  8;  ii.  1,  2,  4-6. 


part  ^im. 


I. 

THE    PRINCIPAL    THING. 


SERMONS. 


I. 

THE   PPJNCIPAL   THINa 

Wisdom  is  the  principal  thing  ;  therefore  get  ivisdom 
Proverbs  iv.  7. 

The  author  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  was  one  to 
whom  God  had  given  large  measures  of  wisdom  and 
knowledge,  and  these  had  been  given  under  such 
circumstances  and  conditions  that  the  hand  of  God 
was  plainly  apparent  in  it.  Solomon  had  been  called 
to  the  throne  at  an  early  age,  and,  recognizing  the 
responsibilities  which  rested  upon  him  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  so  great  a  people,  had  obeyed  the  com- 
mand of  the  Lord  to  ask  what  he  would  by  asking 
for  wisdom.  This  choice  met  the  approval  of  God, 
and  the  request  was  granted.  We  see  then  the 
influence  of  these  events  in  shaping  the  teaching  of 
Solomon.  His  gifts  were  unmistakably  God-given. 
He  could  never  recur  to  the  scenes  of  his  early  life 
without  having  this  fact  impressed  upon  him.  It 
serves    also  to  show    us  why  the    admonitions  of 


10  The  Principal  Tiling. 

Solomon  are  given  to  us  as  teachings  of  wisdom. 
Yet  we  are  not  to  conclude  from  this  that  the  great 
intellectual  gifts  of  Solomon  are  those  which  he  sets 
before  us  as  the  chief  objects  of  pursuit,  but  rather 
are  we  taught  by  one  of  varied  and  extensive  mental 
ability  to  judge  riglitly  what  is  wisdom.  The  fame 
and  reputation  of  Solomon  had  spread  among  the 
surrounding  nations.  Eiches  and  honor  and  wisdom 
combined  held  the  attention  of  those  who  came  in 
contact  with  him.  Was  it  not  probable  that  under 
such  circumstances  men  would  look  more  on  the 
external  than  the  internal,  valuing  the  pomp  and 
glitter  of  Solomon's  rule,  and  attracted  by  the  dis- 
play of  his  wisdom,  without  discerning  the  basis  on 
which  it  rested  ?  To  all  such  the  teaching  of  Solomon 
would  come  to  disabuse  their  minds  of  the  impres- 
sion which  the  outward  exhibition  of  his  genius  had 
occasioned.  They  would  be  reminded  that  in  so  far 
as  they  considered  him  fortunate,  according  to  the 
distance  which  separated  him  from  common  men, 
they  were  mistaken.  That,  however  much  they 
might  lay  stress  on  his  wisdom  and  riches,  yet  the 
highest  wisdom  was  within  the  reach  of  all,  and 
that  was  of  more  value  than  riches.  "  Wisdom  is  the 
principal  thing  ;  therefore  get  wisdom,"  is  the  com- 
mand which  Solomon  lays  upon  us.  Were  these 
the  words  of  an  enthusiast  who,  in  liis  zeal  for  the 
private  work  which  he  had  engaged  in,  calls  upon 
all  to  abandon  their  own  pursuits  that  they  might 


The  Principal  Thing.  11 

follow  him,  there  would  be  little  disposition  to  yield 
obedience ;  or  were  the  obedience  referred  to  a  wide, 
all-embracing  knowledge  of  the  events  of  history  or 
the  facts  of  nature,  it  would  be  idle  to  make  it  the 
basis  of  an  appeal  to  all  men.  But  such  is  not  the 
case.  Solomon  is  directing  our  attention  away  from 
all  misconceptions  of  wisdom  in  which  the  human 
mind  is  tempted  to  dwell,  to  that  which  is  the 
highest  wisdom ;  he  urges  its  importance,  and  presses 
on  us  its  acquirement.  Let  us  consider  our  text, 
then,  from  these  three  standpoints  :  The  nature  of 
wisdom,  its  value,  and  how  it  may  be  gained. 

The  wisdom  mentioned  in  our  text  does  not  relate 
to  the  extent  of  our  knowledge,  but  to  its  kind.  It 
is  not  an  expansion  of  learning  already  gained,  but 
attention  to  the  sphere  of  life  and  conduct  wliich  is 
demanded.  It  is  that  wisdom  of  which  the  fear  of 
the  Lord  is  the  beginning.  It  has  its  seat  in  the 
heart.  This  is  the  repeated  declaration  of  the  Word 
of  God.  Xot  only  is  it  distinctly  stated  in  the  book 
from  which  our  text  is  taken,  but  we  find  it  in  the 
Book  of  Psalms.  And  in  Job  Ave  read,  "  Behold  the 
fear  of  the  Lord,  that  is  wisdom."  To  Solomon, 
indeed,  there  was  one  living  illustration  of  the  truth 
of  his  teaching  to  which  he  could  recur,  —  the  mem- 
ory of  a  father  whose  heart  was  perfect  toward  the 
Lord  his  God ;  but  the  life  of  David  is  open  to  us, 
as  it  was  to  him,  and  we  have  further  means  of 
apprehending  this  truth  in  the  history  of  men  who 


12  The  Principal  Tiling. 

lived  after  Solomon,  and  some  of  them  his  descend- 
ants. But  this  fear  of  the  Lord  is  no  prerogative 
of  princes.  With  the  lowly  is  wisdom,  and  it  is 
often  involved  in  cherishing  this  fear  of  the  Lord 
that  advancement  which  a  mere  worldly  wisdom 
might  urge  upon  us  must  be  foregone.  Fear  of  the 
Lord  must  be  held  to  as  a  reality,  if  held  to  at  all. 
"  Trust  in  the  Lord  with  all  thine  heart ;  and  lean 
not  unto  thine  own  understanding.  In  all  thy  ways 
acknowledge  Him,  and  He  shall  direct  thy  paths." 

Thus  are  we  brought  to  see  the  nature  of  wisdom. 
It  expresses  itself  in  a  continued,  unwavering  faith. 
It  knows  no  change  of  time  or  circumstance.  And 
it  is  no  mystical  or  sentimental  affection  of  the 
mind  which  is  demanded.  Fear  of  the  Lord  must 
have  its  issue  in  the  life.  Let  us  beware  of  the 
error  which  would  substitute  a  vague,  shadowy, 
indefinable  relation  toward  God  for  that  real  trust 
which  exhibits  itself  in  the  keeping  of  the  explicit 
commandments  of  His  Word.  Here  again  Solomon 
guides  us.  He  closely  relates  the  commandments  of 
God  with  the  part  of  wisdom.  There  is  no  compro- 
mise with  the  teaching  of  the  decalogue.  Wisdom 
has  a  plain,  practical  way  of  guiding  us.  It  gives  a 
high  place  to  tlie  commandments  which  it  imposes 
upon  the  outward  life,  yet  it  does  not  separate  them 
from  their  relation  to  God ;  and  by  their  means  we 
are  enabled  to  form  a  definite  conception  of-  the  kind 
of  service  which  wisdom  requires,  —  what  trust  in  God 


The  Principal  Thing.  13 

calls  upon  us  to  do.  We  are  not  left  to  find  out  what 
is  acceptable  to  God ;  we  are  not  placed  upon  the 
edge  of  a  trackless  forest  with  only  a  disposition  to 
break  through  its  thick  undergrowth,  and  make  our 
way  unaided  through  its  unexplored  depths,  but  a 
path  is  made  plain  for  us.  Directions  are  given  us 
which,  if  followed,  will  carry  us  safely  through  and 
bring  us  at  last  to  the  light.  There  is  the  fear  of 
the  Lord  made  plain  to  us.  Reliance  on  Him  is  like 
the  reliance  we  place  in  our  fellowmen,  and  obeying 
Him  is  yielding  to  His  definite  commands.  "  Great 
is  the  mystery  of  godliness,"  says  the  apostle  ;  but  it 
is  the  mystery  of  the  work  that  God  has  done  for 
man  to  which  he  refers.  But  the  work  which  God 
requires  of  man  is  so  plainly  set  forth  that  he  who 
runs  may  read. 

Secondly,  we  learn  from  the  text  that  wisdom  is 
the  principal  thing.  Positively  and  negatively  is 
this  truth  brought  out.  All  the  terms  which  are 
used  to  express  what  men  most  desire  —  riches, 
health,  long  life  —  are  pressed  into  service  to  denote 
the  value  of  wisdom ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  sure  destruction  of  those  who  reject  wisdom 
is  expressed  with  equal  clearness.  Since  the  days 
of  Solomon  there  has  been  no  change  in  the  truth 
of  His  teaching.  Now,  as  then,  obedience  to  God 
brings  reward,  and  disobedience  punishment.  There 
is  no  middle  ground.  Wisdom  calls  us  to  life  ; 
reject  it,  and  we  follow  the  road  which  leads  to 


14  _         Tlie  Principal  Thing. 

death.  And  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  it  is  the 
temporal  consequence  of  sin  which  is  referred  to. 
As  in  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  we  learn  the  unsatis- 
factory result  of  any  course  of  pleasure  pursued  with- 
out reference  to  God,  so  here  we  learn  the  deadly 
result  in  time  of  a  life  which  is  lived  in  defiance  of 
divine  law.  It  is  not  necessary  to  project  the 
shadow  of  everlasting  punishment  upon  the  page  to 
give  point  to  the  lesson.  Godliness  hath  promise  of 
the  life  which  now  is.  This  is  the  truth  which  is 
enforced  by  ;the  voice  of  wisdom,  and  it  is  a  truth 
met  with  continually  in  Old  Testament  history. 
Moses,  Joshua,  and  David,  no  less  than  Solomon, 
bear  witness  either  in  life  or  teaching  to  the  folly  of 
sin,  and  it  is  met  with  at  every  turn  in  the  history 
of  Israel  as  a  people.  Thus  it  is  that  every  genera- 
tion is  liablie'to  the  same  weakness  and  requires  the 
same  instruction.  Line  upon  line,  precept  upon  pre- 
cept is  needed  to  keep  before  us  the  unchangeable- 
ness  of  the  'laws  of  God.  Is  it  not  time  that  w^e 
learned  that^human  nature  is  the  same  throughout 
history  ?  We  are' not  different  from  the  generations 
which  have  'preceded  us.  The  evil  nature  with 
which  they  'had  to  contend  is  in  us.  The  same 
stru^sle  is  before*  us  ;  the  same  rules  of  warfare  nee- 
essarily  apply.  Hence  it  is  that  from  God  on  Sinai, 
and  from  the  preacher  of  Ecclesiastes  the  conclusion 
of  the  whole  matter  is  the  same,  "  Fear  God,  and 
keep  His  commandments:  for  this  is  the  whole  duty 


The  Principal  Thing.  15 

of  man."  And  now  that  duty  and  self-interest  have 
been  shown  by  long  experience  to  lie  along  the  same 
lines,  what  explanation  can  we  furnish  for  the  fact 
that  both  are  so  readily  neglected  ?  Is  it  to  be 
accounted  for  on  any  other  ground  than  that  of 
improvidence  or  folly  ?  Thou  fool,  was  the  sentence 
passed  by  our  Lord  upon  the  rich  man,  whose  soul 
rested  only  on  food  and  drink  and  merriment,  and 
such  will  be  the  sentence  on  all  who  imitate  him. 
Yet  is  there  not  a  deeper  reason  which  lies  at  the 
basis  of  this  folly,  which  arises  from  the  very  nature 
of  the  principle  of  obedience  ?  It  is  fully  shown  us 
in  the  illustration  :  "  Every  good  tree  bringeth  forth 
good  fruit,  but  a  corrupt  tree  bringeth  forth  evil 
fruit;  a  good  tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit, 
neither  can  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit." 

If  the  principle  be  lacking,  there  will  be  no 
manifestation  of  it.  If  we  begin  with  duty,  with 
the  fear  and  love  of  God,  we  shall  end  by  gaining 
all  that  imaojination  can  conceive  of  those  thini^s 
which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  Him. 
Eeverse  the  order;  set  our  hearts  upon  our  own 
good  first,  and  we  pass  under  the  sentence,  "He 
that  seeketh  his  life  shall  lose  it." 

It  is  well  that  we  should  keep  steadfastly  in 
mind  this  relation  between  faith  in  God  and 
obedience  to  Him.  Faith  is  the  only  sure  founda- 
tion of  works.  This  is  the  contested  ground  to-day. 
We  meet  with  a  general  and  ready  acquiescence  in 


16  The  Principal  Tiling. 

affirming  that  the  well-being  and  happiness  of  men 
is  coincident  with  the  observance  of  the  require- 
ments of  Scripture.  It  is  only  when  we  assert  the 
ground  of  this  observance  that  we  encounter  oppo- 
sition. The  old  motives  which  spring  from  a  belief 
in  the  lost  condition  of  the  race  and  their  salvation 
through  Christ  are  held  to  be  no  longer  serviceable. 
They  have  led  to  good  results;  but  the  time  has 
come  when  they  must  be  discarded.  Their  work 
is  done,  and  well  done;  but  we  must  now  look 
for  other  springs  of  action.  Theories  of  human 
conduct  are  propounded,  and  we  are  invited  to 
accept  them.  But  before  we  consent  to  sacrifice 
ourselves  in  putting  to  the  test  these  substitutes 
for  the  old  truths,  let  us  consider  whether  the 
voice  of  history  does  not  bring  to  us  the  records 
of  experiments  repeated  again  and  again,  which 
prove  the  fallacy  of  attempting  to  give  any  other 
basis  for  wise  and  useful  living  than  the  fear  of 
God.  The  importance  of  wisdom,  however,  is  not 
to  be  limited  to  a  consideration  of  its  value  in 
this  life  alone.  We  are  not  to  deprive  ourselves 
of  the  fuller  light  of  New  Testament  teaching,  of 
the  greater  force  and  urgency  with  which  it  clothes 
every  motive  to  the  pursuit  of  wisdom,  by  the 
emphasis  which  it  lays  upon  rewards  and  punish- 
ments which  are  to  endure  forever.  Solomon's 
judgments  of  life  and  death  have  new  meaning 
added  to  them.     "What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if 


The  Principal  Thing.  17 

he  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul." 
This  is  an  argument  wdiich  we  cannot  escape. 
Man  has  no  choice  in  the  matter :  a  soul  is  given 
him  to  lose  or  keep.  He  is  not  responsible  for  its 
possession  ;  he  had  no  choice  in  his  creation  ;  he 
finds  himself  placed  in  certain  surroundings  with  a 
certain  nature ;  but  he  has  the  inestimable  advan- 
tage of  being  informed  both  in  regard  to  himself 
and  his  circumstances  that  he  is  immortal,  that 
his  present  state  is  but  a  transient  one,  and  that 
his  welfare  in  the  future  depends  on  the  use  which 
he  makes  of  the  present.  "  Whatsoever  a  man  sow- 
eth,  that  shall  he  also  reap." 

Let  us  look  now  to  the  source  of  wisdom,  whence 
it  is  to  be  gained,  "  The  Lord  giveth  wisdom " 
(Prov.  ii.  6).  This  is  to  be  understood  not  only  in 
reference  to  the  outward  rules  of  conduct,  but  to 
the  inward  disposition.  "  I  will  run  the  way  of 
Thy  commandments  when  Thou  shalt  enlarge  my 
heart"  is  the  utterance  of  the  Psalmist.  AVe  need 
to  recognize  the  direct  relation  which  God  sustains 
to  us,  the  extent  to  which  we  are  dependent  upon 
divine  help.  It  needs  but  a  hasty  glance  at  the 
pre-eminence  which  is  given  to  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  upon  the  heart  to  become  conscious 
of  the  utter  helplessness  to  which  man  is  reduced 
by  the  withdrawal  of  divine  assistance.  Constant 
and  unremitting  communion  with  God  is  the  only 
channel  through  which  spiritual  life  can  be  sus- 

2 


18  The  Prmcipal  Thing, 

tained.  The  prayer  of  Augustine,  "Lord,  give  what 
thou  commandest,  then  command  what  thou  wilt," 
is  but  an  appreciation  of  the  need  which  is  felt  for 
the  power  which  will  enable  us  to  yield  obedience 
to  the  will  of  God.  If  the  sense  of  this  need  is 
lacking,  and  trust  in  our  human  nature  is  alone 
resorted  to,  there  is  danger  of  falling  into  the 
snare  of  the  Pharisee  in  a  vain  attempt  to  establish 
our  own  righteousness. 

Except  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they  labor  in 
vain  that  build  it ;  and  this  is  true  of  all  work 
which  refuses  to  recognize  or  seek  the  presence 
and  indwelling  of  the  divine  spirit  in  order  to  its 
successful  accomplishment.  This  truth  confronts 
us  as  much  in  the  sphere  of  character  as  of  any 
other.  We  miss  the  secret  of  doing  the  acceptable 
will  of  God  in  making  the  attempt  of  ourselves  to 
maintain  a  life  which  shall  be  pleasing  to  Him. 
If  in  our  own  eyes  we  attain  success,  yet  the 
failure  may  be  none  the  less  complete.  AVhen 
Nebuchadnezzar  (Daniel  iv.  30)  looked  forth  upon 
the  defences  of  Babylon,  upon  the  strength  and 
beauty  of  its  walls  and  palaces,  his  spirit  was 
lifted  up  within  him,  and  he  glorified  himself  as 
he  reflected  that  the  city  laid  out  before  him  was 
the  work  of  his  own  hands  and  genius ;  yet  that 
very  hour  was  the  discipline  sent  upon  him  which 
was  to  abase  his  pride  and  to  lead  him  to  glorify 
the  Most  High.     Out  of  the  midst  of  ruin  and  mis- 


The  Principal  Thing.  19 

fortune  he  was  to  learn  how  little  the  might  of  his 
power  and  the  honor  of  his  majesty  was  due  to 
himself.  "  God  resisteth  the  proud,  but  giveth 
grace  unto  the  humble;"  and  spiritual  pride,  which 
boasts  itself  of  its  own  merits  which  cries  out.  My 
own  right  hand  hath  gotten  me  the  victory,  is  as 
much  to  be  condemned  and  as  liable  to  overthrow 
as  the  pride  which  rests  itself  upon  wealth  or 
power.  "  Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth  take 
heed  lest  he  fall."  The  instant  that  communica- 
tion with  God  is  severed  and  we  stand  in  our 
own  strength,  power  for  spiritual  good  ceases.  We 
can  neither  possess  nor  practise  wisdom  except  as 
He  gives  it. 

Let  us  now  transfer  our  thoughts  for  a  few  mo- 
ments from  the  Old  Economy  to  the  New.  We 
have  considered  what  the  wisest  of  the  Hebrews 
at  the  most  brilliant  period  of  Jewish  history  held 
to  be  the  greatest  concern  of  man.  We  can 
read  for  ourselves  the  bold  personifications  and 
striking  imagery  with  which  he  would  seek  to 
impress  the  truth  upon  his  day  and  generation ; 
but  has  there  been  no  fuller  development  of  the 
truth  since  then  ?  Were  Solomon  to  speak  to  us 
to-day,  would  he  not  preach  Clirist  ?  In  the  place 
of  personified  wisdom  would  he  not  set  before  us 
the  incarnate  Son  of  God  ?  And  in  taking  home 
his  message  to  our  hearts,  let  us  remember  that 
wisdom  for  us  is  to  be  found  in  Christ.     He  is  the 


20  The  Principal  Thing. 

revelation  of  God  to  us ;  we  are  to  look  to  Him  to 
find  out  the  ways  of  God.  The  mystery  which  was 
hidden  from  the  foundation  of  the  w^orld  has  been 
revealed.  It  still  remains  that  wisdom  is  the  prin- 
cipal thing,  walking  in  the  fear  of  God  and  keeping 
His  commandments ;  hut  these  duties  gain  a  fuller 
and  richer  application  while  we  look  toward  Christ. 
He  is  the  gift  of  God  to  us;  our  life  should  flow 
from  Him ;  apart  from  Him  w^e  can  do  nothing. 
As  wisdom  afforded  a  sure  refuge  to  those  who 
embraced  it  and  surrendered  themselves  wholly 
to  its  guidance,  so  Christ  saves  all  who  come  to 
Him.  Can  we  doubt,  as  we  study  His  person  and 
work,  that  for  us  He  is  tlie  principal  thing,  —  the 
one  thing  needful.  The  Son  of  God  who  for  our 
sakes  became  poor  that  we  through  His  poverty 
mi^ht  become  rich ;  who  humbled  Himself  and 
became  obedient  to  death  —  even  the  death  of  the 
cross  —  that  He  might  redeem  us  from  the  power 
of  satan  unto  God.  Is  there  not  power  in  this 
manifestation  of  the  love  of  God  to  attract  us  ? 
Are  our  hearts  so  hardened  as  to  be  steeled  against 
the  glorious  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.  Let,  then, 
the  object  of  Christ's  redeeming  work  be  consid- 
ered the  salvation  from  sin  and  punishment  which 
He  died  to  purchase,  until  we  gain  an  understand- 
ing of  the  debt  which  He  paid  for  us,  and  when  we 
reflect  that  apart  from  Him  that  debt  would  remain 
forever  unsatisfied,  a  lasting  obligation  to  satisfy  the 


Tlie  Princijpal  Tiling.  21 

demands  of  divine  justice,  can  we  fail  to  admit  that 
our  greatest  need  is  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  dis- 
charge which  is  freely  offered  to  us  through  the 
gospel.  But  beyond  the  motives  which  a  release 
from  sentence  of  death  can  inspire,  there  are  posi- 
tive privileges  which  make  their  appeal.  Not  only 
are  we  called  to  a  salvation  from  death,  but  to  a 
salvation  unto  a  new  life.  There  is  a  purchased 
possession  to  which  we  look  forward.  Christ  has 
done  far  more  than  satisfy  the  claims  against  us; 
He  has  made  us  heirs  of  God ;  He  has  clothed  us 
with  a  righteousness  which  is  not  our  own ;  He  has 
bestowed  upon  us  the  gifts  of  the  spirit;  He  en- 
sures to  us  through  all  time  His  care  and  love  and 
fellowship. 

But  if  such  abundant  blessings  are  procured 
through  Him,  must  we  not  recognize  that  His  is 
the  chief  place  among  our  interests,  and  yield  to 
Him  the  supremacy  which  He  demands,  and  thereby 
bring  ourselves  into  accord  with  the  purpose  of 
God,  whose  will  it  is  that  the  name  of  Jesus  should 
be  exalted  above  every  name ;  that  at  the  name  of 
Jesus  every  knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven 
and  thino[s  in  earth. 


II. 

STEADFASTNESS. 


II. 

STEADFASTNESS.' 

Take  lieed,  hrethren,  lest  tliere  he  in  any  of  you  an  evil 
heart  of  unbelief ,  in  departing  from  the  living  God.  But  exhort 
one  another  daily,  while  it  is  called  To-day  ;  lest  any  of  you  be 
hardened  through  the  deceitfulness  of  sin.  For  tve  are  made  par- 
takers of  Christ,  if  we  hold  the  beginning  of  our  confidence 
stedfast  unto  the  end.  —  Hebrews  iii.  12-14. 

Christ's  fellowship  with  God,  His  fellowship  with 
man,  and  His  atoning  work  are  the  doctrines  set 
before  us  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  But  the 
doctrine  presented  is  not  given  in  an  abstract  form. 
The  truth  is  not  propounded  for  the  gratification  of 
the  intellect.  A  living  Christ  is  preached  to  living 
men.  The  subject  glows  under  the  writer's  hand  ; 
but  he  does  not  forget  his  object  to  instruct  and 
persuade  men.  The  epistle  is  not  a  psalm  of  adora- 
tion to  Christ,  but  a  call  to  Christian  believers  to 
remain  steadfast  in  their  faith.  All  the  liojht 
which  it  casts  on  the  person  and  work  of  Christ  is 
used  to  intensify  the  appeals  to  trust  and  depend- 
ence on  Him,  while  the  most  solemn  warnings  and 
entreaties  are  urged  against  apostasy.  It  is  with 
one  of  these  warnings  that  the  text  opens. 


26  Steadfastness. 

"  Take  heed,  brethren,  lest  there  be  in  any  of 
you  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief,  in  departing  from  the 
living  God."  This  caution  is  not  a  bow  drawn  at  a 
venture.  The  history  of  the  chosen  people  fur- 
nished many  events  which  would  justify  the  appre- 
hension which  is  suggested ;  and  mention  of  one 
of  these  events  has  just  been  made.  The  apostle, 
in  speaking  of  the  need  of  steadfastness,  supple- 
ments it  with  a  quotation  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, "  Wherefore,  as  the  Holy  Ghost  saith,  To-day  if 
ye  will  hear  His  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts,  as 
in  the  provocation,  in  the  day  of  temptation  in  the 
wilderness:  when  your  fathers  tempted  me,  proved 
me,  and  saw  my  works  forty  years.  Wherefore  I 
was  grieved  with  this  generation,  and  said.  They 
do  always  err  in  their  hearts ;  and  they  have  not 
known  my  ways.  So  I  sware  in  my  wrath.  They 
shall  not  enter  into  my  rest"  (Heb.  iii.  7-11). 
The  apostle  uses  this  reminder  of  the  unfaithfulness 
of  past  generations  and  its  consequence  as  a  warn- 
ing to  his  brethren.  It  exhibits  to  them  the  danger 
which  he  would  have  them  avoid :  "  Take  heed, 
lest  there  be  in  any  of  you  an  evil  heart  of  unbe- 
lief." These  words  are  a  warning  against  apostasy ; 
then  follows  the  precaution  whereby  to  guard 
against  it:  "Exhort  one  another  daily  while  it  is 
called  To-day."  And  then  the  encouragement  to 
perseverance  is  given  :  "  For  we  are  made  partakers 
of  Christ,  if  we  hold  the  beginning  of  our  confidence 
stedfast  unto  the  end." 


Steadfastness.  27 

All  the  admonitions  which  are  given  to  Christians 
partake  more  or  less  of  these  three  elements, — 
conflict  with  sin,  means  of  resistance,  final  victory. 

Those   to   whom    the   apostle   writes   may   have 
never  thought  of  the  possibility  of  their  departing 
from  the  living  God;  yet  he,  knowing  and  seeing 
the  tendencies  which  were  leading  in  this  direction, 
sees  fit  to  remind  them  of  the  constant  opposition 
to  faith  which  was  exerted  by  the  influences  oper- 
ating around  them.     This  presentation  of  the  situa- 
tion in  which  the  Christian  stands  is  worthy  of  our 
consideration.     It   does  not   present  a   novel  idea, 
but  is  a    truth  to  be  kept  in  remembrance.     The 
present  is  a  time  of  trial  and  danger.     "  Take  heed," 
is  a  lesson   constantly  applicable.     It  is  written  on 
every  page   of  gospel  history.     No  man  is  able  to 
complain  when  tempted  that  he  has  not  been  fore- 
warned.    No    man    when    tried    by    opposition     or 
distress   or  persecution  can  plead  that  this  was  not 
in  the  plan  of  Christian  life  set  before  him  in  the 
beginning.     And  more   than  this,  not  only  are  we 
made  familiar  w^ith  the  likelihood  of  special  seasons 
of  trial  to  call  forth  faith  and  patience,  but  with 
the  constant  watchfulness  and  diligence  necessary 
to  counteract  the   daily  influences  which   tend   to 
pervert  or  destroy  faith.     An   unbiassed  reading  of 
the  AVord  of  God  will  set  before  us  many  dangers 
which  are  often  ignored,  and  will  reveal  to  us  many 
instances    of   the    deceitfulness   of    sin.     Whether 


28  Steadfastness. 

these  shall  be  for  our  instruction,  as  they  were 
meant  to  be,  depends  on  the  spirit  in  which  we 
approach  them.  If  we  would  gain  wisdom  from  the 
experience  and  teaching  of  others,  we  must  exercise 
humility,  and  recognize  the  community  of  nature 
which  unites  men  and  renders  the  instruction  given 
to  one  generation  applicable  to  all. 

"  Take  heed,  brethren,  lest  there  be  in  any  of  you 
an  evil  heart  of  unbelief."  The  Scriptures  do  not 
represent  confirmation  in  holiness  as  attained  this 
side  of  the  grave.  We  can  never  reach  the  point 
where  we  can  look  upon  the  lessons  of  Scripture  as 
outgrown,  as  mastered  once  for  all.  The  deceitful- 
ness  of  sin  may  not  deceive  us,  but  then  it  is  because 
its  devices  have  been  unmasked,  and  we  have  been 
sincere  and  candid  enough  to  recognize  them.  The 
Jews  in  the  time  of  Christ  had  many  obstacles  to  pre- 
vent their  acceptance  of  Him, — strong  national  pride, 
preconceived  opinions  of  what  the  Messiah  was  to  be, 
wrong  interpretations  of  prophecy,  —  all  combined  to 
turn  their  heart  away  from  their  Eedeemer.  AVhen 
we  consider  tlie  infatuations  that  controlled  them, 
we  must  give  a  ready  sympathy  with  the  struggle 
through  which  a  Jew  must  pass  before  he  could 
believe  on  Jesus  as  the  Messiah.  Conceive  some 
ambition  around  which  all  your  hopes  and  pride 
and  affection  centre,  to  the  attainment  of  which  you 
have  bent  all  your  strength  and  taxed  all  your 
resources.     Then    imagine    if   you   will    this    idol 


Steadfastness.  29 

which  had  taken  possession  of  your  life  suddenly 
shattered,   and   with   it   all  the    fond   expectations 
which   you   had   cherished ;   and    while  you  stand 
lamenting   your  loss   some  one  comes   to    tell   you 
that  in  this  very  ruin  you  grieve  for  is  to  be  found 
the  realization   of  all  your  hopes.     Picture  such   a 
scene  as   this,  and  we  gather  some   conception    of 
what  it  was  for  a  Jew  to  accept  Christ.     And  this 
is  not  wholly  a  product  of  the  imagination,  relying 
for  its  effect  on  stages  of  history  long  past.     The 
facts  may  be  old,  but  the  truth  which  underlies  the 
facts  is  still  operative.     When  a  man  accepts  Christ 
to-day  he  has  to  face  the  same  struggle  ;  and  just  in 
so  far  as  he  clings  to  false  views  of  life  and  has  set 
his  heart  on  attaining  aims  and  ambitions  contrary 
to  the  spirit  of  Christ,  so  far  will  he  find  it  difficult 
to  accept  Him.     The  Jews    of  the    Old  and   New 
Testament   represent   human    nature.     Their  expe- 
riences are  not  foreign  to   us  ;  and  when  they  are 
put  on  their  guard  it  is  time  for  us  to  be  cautious. 
"  Take  heed,  brethren."     Those   to  whom   this  epis- 
tle was  written  were  believers,  only  when  the  time 
had  come  that  they  should  be  teachers  they  had 
need  that  one  teach  them  again  the  first  principles 
of  the  oracles  of  God.     They  were  falling  backwards. 
Christ  teaches  us  that  some  receive  His  Word  with 
joy,  but  have  no  root  in  themselves  ;  but  when  perse- 
cution ariseth  because  of  the  Word,  they  are  offended ; 
and  He  speaks  of  others  likewise,  in  whom  the  cares 


30  Steadfastness. 

of  this  world  and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches  choke  the 
Word  that  it  becometh  unfruitful.  This  was  spoken 
for  our  edification.  It  is  another  word  in  season  to 
unmask  the  deceits  of  sin.  But,  rightly  viewed,  the 
parables  of  our  Lord,  the  historical  examples  of 
the  consequence  of  sin,  the  failures,  the  backslidings, 
the  lukewarmness  we  find  narrated,  —  all  these  be- 
come so  many  danger  signals  of  the  tendencies  within 
us  and  around  us  to  weaken  and  destroy  spiritual  life  ; 
while  the  specific  commands  which  are  laid  upon 
us  against  all  kinds  of  sin,  malice,  evil-speaking, 
uncharitableness,  covetousness,  and  the  revelations 
which  are  made  to  us  of  the  foes  we  have  to  meet, 
—  spiritual  foes,  powers  of  darkness,  the  adversary 
who  goeth  about  like  a  roaring  lion  seeking  whom 
he  may  devour,  —  these  clearly  disclose  the  danger- 
ous susceptibilities  of  our  nature  and  the  enemies 
who  stand  waiting  to  take  advantage  of  them. 
"  The  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  desper- 
ately wicked."  But  to  be  forewarned  is  to  be  fore- 
armed, and  to  gain  the  warning  we  have  only  to 
consult  the  \Yord  of  God.  And  let  us  remember 
that  God  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men 
for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth.  Neither 
distance  of  time  nor  separation  of  nationality  can 
annul  the  personal  bearing  which  the  Word  of 
God  has  for  us.  The  Bible  is  not  a  Jewish  book 
nor  a  curious  relic  of  antiquity.  Its  teaching  is 
universal,  and  shall  endure  until  the  coming  of  the 


Steadfastness.  31 

new  heavens  and  the  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth 
righteousness. 

Secondly,  let  us  turn  our  thoughts  to  the  precaution 
which  the  apostle  gives  against  apostasy.  "  Exhort 
one  another  daily,  while  it  is  called  To  day."  What 
was  to  be  the  subject  of  this  exhortation  ?  This 
is  made  evident  by  the  opening  of  the  chapter, 
"  Wherefore,  holy  brethren,  partakers  of  the 
heavenly  calling,  consider  the  apostle  and  high 
priest  of  our  profession,  Jesus  Christ.  This  was  to 
be  the  armor  of  resistance  against  every  evil,  —  to 
inspirit  the  weak,  to  confirm  the  doubting,  to  succor 
the  tempted.  The  commands  of  Christ  are  to  be 
the  guide  of  our  life  ;  His  humanity  is  to  assure  us  of 
His  sympathy,  and  the  contemplation  of  the  sacrifice 
which  He  made  is  to  give  us  confidence  that  the  way 
to  the  throne  of  grace  has  been  opened ;  that  prayer 
for  help  in  time  of  need  will  be  heard.  The  reality 
of  all  these  truths  is  to  be  kept  bright  and  fresh 
in  the  mind  by  mutual  exhortation.  Fellowship  in 
faith  is  to  be  sought  after  as  much  as  fellowship  in 
other  matters.  One  Lord,  one  faith,  one  experience 
unites  us,  and  it  remains  that  we  should  endeavor 
to  preserve  and  strengthen  in  each  other  this  inward 
life  which  we  possess  in  common.  The  Eeciprocal 
duties  of  warning,  sympathy,  and  encouragement 
are  strongly  marked  features  of  Christian  teaching. 
"Be  kindly  affectioned  to  one  another  with  brotherly 
love"  (Eom.  xii.  10).      "And  let  us  consider  one 


32  Steadfastness, 

another  to  provoke  nnto  love  and  good  works" 
(Heb.  X.  24).  "  Brethren,  if  a  man  be  overtaken  in 
a  fault,  ye  which  are  spiritual,  restore  such  an  one 
in  the  spirit  of  meekness ;  considering  thyself,  lest 
thou  also  be  tempted  "  (Gal.  vi.  1). 

It  is  natural  when  we  consider  the  spirit  of 
Christ's  instruction  and  the  nature  of  the  kingdom 
which  He  came  to  establish  that  such  a  spirit  of 
mutual  helpfulness  should  be  impressed  on  His  fol- 
lowers ;  and  when  we  consider  the  influence  which 
is  exerted  on  every  man  by  the  support  and  co- 
operation of  his  fellowmen,  we  can  appreciate  the 
force  of  the  apostle's  words,  "Exhort  one  an- 
other." But  apart  from  a  common  interest  and  a 
common  duty,  a  common  danger  should  prompt  us 
to  exercise  fellowship  one  with  another ;  and  this  is 
the  motive  especially  enforced  in  the  text.  For 
self-protection,  for  safety,  we  need  the  safeguards 
which  spring  from  united  watchfulness  and  from 
the  united  consideration  of  Christian  truth.  AYe 
cannot  value  too  highly  the  help  to  be  gained  from 
this  source.  If  we  should  seek  for  an  illustration 
of  this  from  Scripture,  the  life  of  Paul  furnishes 
many  instances  to  show  the  support  which  he 
gained  from  association  with  Christian  believers. 
It  is  shown  by  the  care  which  he  took  on  his 
missionary  journeys  to  secure  the  companionship  of 
men  of  his  own  spirit  and  belief ;  and  it  is  attested 
by  many  expressions  in  his  epistles.     To  the  Corin- 


Steadfastness.  33 

thians  he  writes  (1  Cor.  xvi.  17,  18),  "I  am  glad 
of  the  coming  of  Stephanas  and  Fortunatus  and 
Achaicus  :  for  that  which  was  lacking  on  your  part 
they  have  supplied.  For  they  have  refreshed  my 
spirit."  And  again  (2  Cor.  vii.  6),  "Neverthe- 
less God,  that  comforteth  those  that  are  cast  down, 
comforted  us  by  the  coming  of  Titus."  And  to  the 
Eomans  he  writes  (Eom.  i.  11-12),  "For  I  long 
to  see  you,  that  I  may  impart  unto  you  some 
spiritual  gift,  to  the  end  you  may  be  established : 
that  is,  that  I  may  be  comforted  together  with  you 
by  the  mutual  faith  both  of  you  and  me."  Paul 
did  not  hesitate  to  seek  for  himself  what  he  recom- 
mended to  others  ;  and  certainly  the  earnest,  anxious 
care  which  he  had  for  the  churches,  as  shown  in 
the  oft-repeated  appeals  he  made  to  them,  setting 
forth  the  hopes  and  aims  of  the  Christian  life,  showed 
how  firm  was  his  belief  in  the  influence  of  daily 
exhortation  to  counteract  the  deceitfulness  of  sin. 
And  in  this  his  example  is  followed  by  the  Apostle 
Peter,  who  in  his  second  epistle  tells  us  (2  Pet.  i. 
12,  13),  "  Wherefore  I  will  not  be  negligent  to  put 
you  always  in  remembrance  of  these  things,  though 
ye  know  them,  and  be  established  in  the  present 
truth.  Yea,  I  think  it  meet,  as  long  as  I  am  in 
this  tabernacle,  to  stir  you  up  by  putting  you  in 
remembrance."  And  the  objects  which  he  brings  to 
their  remembrance  are  faith,  virtue,  knowledge, 
temperance,  patience,  godliness,  brotherly  love,  love, 

3 


34  Steadfastness. 

and  the  foundation  on  wliicli  these  rest,  the  know- 
ledge of  God  and  of  Jesus  our  Lord.  The  truths  of 
the  gospel,  the  duties  imposed  by  the  gospel,  should 
be  the  frequent  subject  of  consideration  among 
Christians,  and  we  shall  find  therein  a  strong  sup- 
port of  steadfastness  in  the  faith. 

This  brings  us  to  the  third  division  of  the  text: 
the  encouragement  or  reward  which  is  offered  to 
perseverance.  "  For  we  are  made  partakers  of  Christ, 
if  we  hold  the  beginning  of  our  confidence  stedfast 
unto  the  end."  This  closes  naturally  the  train  of 
thought  with  which  the  text  began. 

The  picture  of  a  danger  which  is  constantly 
threatening,  and  of  needed  help  which  is  constantly 
to  be  sought,  is  brightened  by  the  mention  of  an 
end  to  come,  and  of  changed  conditions  of  life  to 
follow.  "  Stedfast  unto  the  end."  There  are  chapters 
in  the  history  of  redemption.  One  dispensation  of 
God's  providence  closes,  another  begins.  There  will 
come  a  time  when  all  things  will  not  continue 
as  they  were  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  ; 
when  the  human  race  shall  have  reached  the  end  of 
its  probation;  when  the  period  of  conflict  through 
which  it  is  passing  shall  cease ;  when  true  worship- 
pers of  God  shall  henceforth  be  freed  from  the 
distractions  and  dangers  of  sin.  There  remaineth 
a  rest  for  the  people  of  God.  This  is  the  climax 
toward  which  their  history  is  tending.  It  is  rep- 
resented  in    increasing    fulness    from    Genesis    to 


Steadfastness.  35 

Eevelation.  From  the  promise  of  a  deliverer  made 
in  Eden  to  the  vision  of  John  on  Patmos,  when  he 
saw  the  holy  city,  new  Jerusalem,  coming  down 
from  God  out  of  heaven. 

But  it  is  not  the  final  consummation  of  the  king- 
dom of  God  which  is  referred  to  in  the  text,  but  the 
individual  entrance  to  that  kingdom.  It  is  the  end 
of  earthly  life  which  comes  to  every  man ;  the  end 
which  Paul  had  reached  when  he  says,  "I  have 
fought  a  good  fight ;  I  have  finished  my  course ;  I 
have  kept  the  faith.  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up 
for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the 
righteous  judge,  shall  give  me  in  that  day,  and  not 
to  me  only,  but  to  all  them  that  love  His  appearing." 
"  He  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved."  "  Be 
thou  faithful  unto  death  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown 
of  life."  The  expressions  of  Scripture  are  uniform 
in  pointing  to  an  end,  and  to  the  glory  which  shall 
follow.  When  the  Christian  faith  has  once  been 
received  and  understood,  faithfulness  is  the  one 
grace  to  be  enjoyed.  Whatever  contributes  to  it 
should  be  welcomed.  Do  we  allow  this  side  of 
the  truth,  the  speedy  termination  of  our  warfare  and 
the  outlook  on  the  eternity,  which  has  been  revealed, 
to  have  its  full  weight  ?  Do  we  allow  the  example 
of  Christ,  who  for  the  joy  set  before  Him  endured 
the  cross,  despising  the  shame  ? 

The  Apostle  John  says,  "  It  doth  not  yet  appear 
what  we  shall  be ;  but  we  know  that  when  He  shall 


36  Steadfastness. 

appear,  we  shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as 
He  is."     And  every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in  Him 
purifieth    himself,   even    as    He    is  pure.     We    do 
rightly  to  quicken  the  impulses  of  Christian  life  by 
the  consideration  of  this  prospect  in  the  future ;  and 
not  only   so,  but  it  is   incumbent   on   us  that  we 
should  grow  in  appreciation  of  the  value  of  the  hope 
which  is  here  set   before  us,  that  the  promise    of 
fellowship  with  Christ  should  awaken  a  prompt  and 
eager  response.     There  is  but  one  method  which  we 
can  pursue  to  quicken  our  susceptibility  to  spiritual 
impression,  —  by  increasing  in  the  knowledge  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.     The  more  we  study 
His    holiness,   gentleness,  patience,    humility,    the 
farther  we  shall  penetrate  the  depths  of  His  char- 
acter.    The  more  we  contemplate  the  relations  which 
He  has  entered  into  with  us  as  our  ruler,  guide,  and 
friend,  the  closer  we  shall  draw  to  Him.     The  more 
we  understand  of  the  great  and  precious  promises 
which  His  Word  secures  for  us,  tlie  more  heartfelt 
will  be  our  acknowledgment  of  the  debt  which  we 
owe  to  Him.     If  then  we  consider  as  we  should  the 
Apostle  and  High  Priest  of  our  profession,  we  shall 
find  an  increased  readiness  to  use  His  name  as  a 
watchword  against  every  evil,  and  the  remembrance 
of  the  promise,  that  we  shall  be  made  partakers  of 
Christ,  shall  be  sufficient  to  establish  the  be^innins 

o  o 

of  our  confidence, "  stedfast  unto  the  end." 


III. 

DISEEGARD    OF    EVIDENCE. 


III. 

DISEEGARD   OF   EVIDENCE. 

And  he  said  unto  him,  If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the  proph- 
ets, neither  will  they  be  persuaded,  though  one  rose  from  the 
dead.  —  Luke  xvi.  31. 

The  parable  from  which  the  text  is  taken  was 
spoken  near  the  end  of  our  Lord's  ministry.  It 
was  directed  against  the  Pharisees,  whose  covet- 
ousness  had  just  been  referred  to  as  the  ground  of 
their  derision  of  Christ.  The  parable  furnishes  a 
picture  of  contrasted  conditions  of  life,  which  are 
brought  forward  to  illustrate  the  spirit  and  temper 
of  those  addressed.  The  interest  centres  around  a 
certain  rich  man,  who  might  well  be  a  representa- 
tive Jew.  He  abounded  in  wealth,  and  was  pos- 
sessed of  religious  privileges.  He  was  clothed  in 
purple  and  fine  linen,  and  fared  sumptuously  every 
day.  Moses  and  the  prophets  figured  among  his 
diverse  possessions.  Such  was  his  social  and  re- 
ligious status.  Five  brethren  were  associated  with 
him  in  the  same  manner  and  style  of  living.  This 
is  the  first  chapter  of  the  history ;   in  the  second 


40  Disregard  of  Evidence. 

we  find  a  change  of  place  and  experience.  Death 
has  effected  a  separation  between  the  rich  man  and 
his  brethren.  The  family  circle  is  broken.  One 
of  its  members  has  gone  to  his  last  resting-place; 
but  the  gates  of  hell  do  not  close  upon  him.  They 
remain  open,  inviting  us  to  follow  and  become  wit- 
nesses of  a  personal  experience  beyond  the  grave. 
The  rich  man  is  in  suffering ;  he  would  gladly  find 
an  alleviation  from  his  pain.  The  vision  of  Abra- 
ham afar  off  excites  hope ;  in  his  bosom  he  recog- 
nizes Lazarus,  a  sickly  beggar,  whom  he  had  known 
on  earth.  Twice  he  appeals  to  Abraham.  First  he 
prays  that  Lazarus  may  be  sent  to  ease  his  suffer- 
ings ;  a  second  time  he  prays  that  Lazarus  may  be 
sent  back  to  earth  to  warn  his  brethren  against  the 
place  of  torment  which  has  closed  on  him.  Both 
requests  are  refused.  The  first  would  disturb  the 
fit  and  necessary  equilibrium  between  the  present 
and  the  past;  it  is,  besides,  impracticable.  The 
second  request  is  an  idle  one.  If  Lazarus  were 
intrusted  with  such  a  mission  to  earth,  it  would  be 
useless.  His  brethren  possessed  Moses  and  the 
prophets ;  if  they  were  not  convinced  by  these, 
neither  would  they  believe,  though  "  one  rose  from 
the  dead." 

At  this  point  the  veil  is  drawn  on  the  world  of 
departed  spirits.  Our  connection  with  the  visible 
world  is  re-established,  and  we  are  left  to  apply 
the  lessons  which  we  have  received. 


Disregard  of  Evidence.  41 

Taken  apart  from  the  life  of  our  Lord,  from  the 
events  in  which  it  was  embodied,  from  the  society 
to  which  it  applied,  this  parable  may  seem  obscure. 

There  is  a  rich  man  enjoying  the  good  things  of 
this  life ;  a  poor  man  experiencing  its  miseries. 
They  die :  in  the  next  world  they  exchange  posi- 
tions. The  poor  man  enjoys  the  blessings  of  the 
future  life,  the  rich  man  its  miseries.  Until  the 
close  of  the  parable  there  is  scarcely  an  indication 
why  this  should  be.  The  facts  are  few,  and  the 
relations  they  sustain  to  each  other  barely  indicated. 
How,  then,  are  we  to  fill  out  this  parable,  to  exhibit 
the  natural  relation  of  its  parts  and  give  point  and 
pungency  to  its  application  ? 

In  the  first  place,  let  us  observe  that  this  par- 
able of  our  Lord  was  personal  in  its  bearing  and 
direct  in  its  application.  It  is  not  a  piece  of  fic- 
tion introduced  to  entertain  or  amuse.  No,  this 
parable  of  our  Lord,  like  many  others,  is  addressed 
to  men,  and  with  a  very  different  purpose  from 
that  of  engaging  their  interest  in  a  story  that  the 
truth  might  be  made  palatable.  It  is  addressed 
to  men  who,  though  lacking  heart  and  conscience, 
had  still  sufficient  power  of  reflection  to  recognize 
that  these  things  were  spoken  against  them.  The 
preaching  of  our  Lord  possessed  personality  in  a 
high  degree.  In  speaking  in  the  name  of  God,  He 
could  yet  speak  in  His  own  name.  This  power  was 
not  declarative  nor  delegated.     While  man,  He  was 


42  Disregard  of  Evidence. 

yet  on  a  level  with  other  men.  He  was  their  judge 
even  on  earth.  He  needed  not  that  any  should 
testify  of  man,  for  He  knew  what  was  in  man.  It 
was  He  himself  who  invited  to  repentance ;  it  was 
He  who  administered  withering  rebukes.  Men  had 
no  duubt  for  whom  His  words  were  intended.  As 
searching  as  the  words  of  Nathan  to  David,  "  Thou 
art  the  man,"  were  the  words  of  Christ  to  His  day 
and  generation.  When  Christ  had  spoken,  w^oe  to 
those  who  heard  Him  and  did  not  repent.  There 
could  be  no  escape  from  the  responsibility  im- 
posed by  His  teaching.  He  spoke  directly  and 
with  authority.  He  utterly  denied  the  rights  of 
His  hearers  to  their  own  opinions.  The  claims  of 
truth  were  universal,  and  the  claims  or  pretensions 
of  men  to  disagree  with  the  truth,  to  ignore  or 
rebut  it,  or  in  any  way  to  escape  from  it,  would 
simply  wreck  their  lives.  He  told  them  plainly 
the  consequences  of  sin.  There  was  no  escape  from 
them.  Any  attempt  to  reason  away  the  existence 
of  sin  and  its  punishment  was  useless.  Judaistic 
theories  of  salvation  were  contradicted  by  facts. 
God  had  constituted  and  ruled  His  universe  on 
certain  principles ;  to  act  in  disregard  of  them 
was  to  incur  the  penalties  of  Divine  judgment. 

This  is  the  range  of  many  of  the  parables,  and  it 
is  evident  in  the  parable  before  us.  Life,  death, 
and  judgment,  the  hopelessness  of  the  appeals  of 
the  dead  already  judged,  the  uselessness  of  appeals 


Disregard  of  Evidence.  43 

to  men  then  living,  are  the  major  facts  of  the  par- 
able.    As  has  been  said,   there  is   a  rich   man  in 
the  parable;    there  is    a   poor  man;    yet  there   is 
little  to  tell  us  why  one  gained  hell  and  the  other 
heaven.      Neither  poverty  nor  riches  determine  a 
man's  final  destiny.      Is  this   parable,  then,  to  be 
resolved  into  a  mere  statement  of  reversals  of  con- 
dition in  the  next  world  ?     Abraham's  words  might 
suggest  this:    "Son,  remember   that   thou   in   thy 
lifetime  receivedst  thy  good  things,  and  likewise 
Lazarus  evil  things;  but  now  he  is  comforted  and 
thou  art  tormented."     Is,  then,  the  ratio  of  suffer- 
ing and  pleasure  to  be  equalized?     Is  this  a  dog- 
matic  statement  that  those  who  have  enjoyment 
here  will  suffer   hereafter;    and   the   reverse,  that 
those  who   suffer  here  will  rejoice  hereafter?     Is 
misery  a  sure   passport  to  heaven,  and  enjoyment 
a  sure  passport  to  hell  ?     Evidently  not.     Abraham 
is   not  stating   a  universal  truth,  but  speaking  di- 
rectly to  Dives'  personal  position  and  experience. 
He  gently  reminds  him   that   from  his   standpoint 
he  had  nothing  to  complain  of.     He  had  pursued 
pleasure   merely  as  pleasure.     There   had  been  no 
directing  spirit  controlling  his   life.      He  had  en- 
joyed himself  as  the  birds  of  the  air,  the  beasts  of 
the  field,  —  thoughtlessly,  aimlessly.     He  could  not 
appeal  to  any  principle  which  insured  his  right  to 
enjoy ;  he  could  not  appeal  to  any  principle  as  the 
basis  of  his  enjoyment;    he  had    merely  lived  in 


44  Disregard  of  Evidence. 

pleasure  while  pleasure  lasted.  He  was  now  in 
pain ;  and  as  he  had  found  no  law  in  life,  he  found 
no  law  in  death.  He  could  not  prove  his  right 
to  enjoy ;  he  had  no  basis  for  maintaining  he  was 
wronged  by  pain.  It  was  simply  first  the  one  and 
then  the  other.  Thus  far  there  is  no  reason  given 
why  the  rich  man  should  be  in  torment.  It  was  a 
sudden  and  unexpected  transition  from  his  easy  life 
on  earth,  and  he  disliked  it  because  it  was  disa- 
greeable. He  had  brethren  who  were  still  living 
on  earth  as  he  had  done.  He  would  endeavor  to 
secure  them  against  his  wretched  experience.  To 
this  end  he  desires  Abraham  to  send  Lazarus  to 
warn  his  brethren  against  following  him. 

Up  to  this  point  the  parable  has  given  us  only 
a  warning.  Happiness  exists  hereafter.  There  are 
sudden  surprises  in  store  for  many.  Let  those  be- 
ware who  entertain  no  thoughts  on  the  matter,  or 
at  least  no  honest  thoug^hts.  It  is  time  for  them 
to  examine  the  foundation  on  which  their  sense  of 
ease  and  security  rests.  The  rich  do  not  carry 
their  riches  with  them,  nor  the  poor  their  poverty. 
The  order  may  be  reversed.  It  is  beneficial  to  men 
everywhere  to  be  aroused  from  the  thought  that 
there  can  be  fixedness  of  rank  or  condition,  unless 
such  condition  is  established  on  principle.  It  is  a 
good  thing  to  be  reminded  that  the  Lord  is  no  re- 
specter of  external  circumstances,  or  birth  or  wealth 
or  learning;  that,  whatever  does  regulate  the  dis- 


Disregard  of  Evidence.  45 

tribution  of  His  gifts,  these  do  not.  Dives  and 
Lazarus:  riches  do  not  save,  poverty  does  not  con- 
demn. This  is  the  naked  teaching  of  the  parable 
as  far  as  we  have  gone.  The  casual  reader  would 
understand  at  least  this  much :  Let  not  the  rich 
man  glory  in  his  riches ;  let  not  the  poor  despair 
because  of  poverty. 

But  now  the  parable  takes  a  wider  range ;  a  flood 
of  light  is  thrown  backward  on  the  previous  narra- 
tive. The  rich  man's  concern  for  his  brethren  calls 
forth  a  second  reply  from  Abraham,  which  in  its 
direct  bearing  upon  the  life  of  the  dead,  upon  the 
present  life  of  the  living,  leads  us  to  think  that  the 
previous  calm  dispassionateness  of  the  dialogue  was 
due,  on  the  part  of  the  rich  man,  to  a  full  under- 
standing of  the  causes  which  had  brought  him 
thither ;  on  the  part  of  Abraham  to  a  wish  to  avoid 
all  mockery  of  a  guilty  man,  who, was  conscious  that 
he  suffered  rightly.  Yet  still  in  the  spirit  of  gen- 
tleness he  first  draws  attention,  not  to  the  uselesa- 
ness  of  the  particular  request,  but  shows  that  the 
spirit  and  purpose  of  it  had  been  carried  out  already. 
His  brethren  had  Moses  and  the  prophets  ;  that  was 
sufficient  warning  to  guard  them  against  sharing 
the  fortunes  of  their  deceased  brother.  The  rich 
man  disputes  the  efficiency  of  past  Jewish  history 
to  enlighten  his  brethren.  He  had  failed  to  avail 
himself  of  the  knowledge  of  God,  which  he  pos- 
sessed, and  his  brethren  were  not  likely  to  improve 


46  Disregard  of  Evidence. 

on  his  example-  "Nay,  Father  Abraham,  but  if 
one  went  unto  them  from  the  dead,  they  will  re- 
pent." Moses  and  the  prophets  were  not  enough. 
They  were  familiar  with  them,  knew  them  by 
heart,  had  learned  them  as  children ;  but  if  his 
brethren  were  to  be  saved  by  them,  the  case  was 
hopeless.  Only  some  fresh  and  startling  wonder 
would  quicken  their  dormant  faith  and  arouse 
serious  apprehension.  The  wish  is  brotherly,  but 
the  judgment  is  at  fault.  "  If  they  hear  not 
Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  will  they  be  per- 
suaded, though  one  rose  from  the  dead."  This  is 
the  passage  which  has  been  chosen  as  the  text. 
It  is  the  culmination  of  the  parable.  It  is  the 
witness  against  the  supposititious  rich  man  in  the 
story,  against  the  living  rich  man  who  heard  it. 
It  explains  the  previous  narrative,  Christ  had 
followed  the  fortunes  of  a  typical  rich  man  through 
this  world  into  the  next.  The  story  was  as  much 
fitted  to  excite  ridicule  then  as  now.  There  was 
like  scepticism  in  the  resurrection ;  there  was  like 
pride  and  indifference  to  judgment;  like  self-con- 
ceit ;  like  self-deception.  Those  to  whom  He  spoke 
were  lovers  of  money,  and  they  paid  the  usual 
adoration  to  a  beloved  object,  and  repaid  interfer- 
ence with  their  worship  with  the  customary  con- 
tempt. Christ  reveals  to  them  the  experience  they 
might  hope  for  beyond  the  grave.  One  of  their 
number   ardently  desires  a  special  and  extraordi- 


Disregard  of  Evidence.  47 

nary  testimony  as  a  means  of  turning  his  brethren 
to  reflection,  repentance,  and  salvation.  Christ 
points  out  to  them  that  in  neglecting  the  testimony 
of  Moses  and  the  prophets  they  made  belief  in  any 
testimony  impossible.  Wonders  could  not  convert. 
A  resurrection  from  the  dead  would  convert  men 
only,  as  it  was  in  the  line  of  previously  known 
and  recognized  truth.  Those  who  practically  de- 
nied the  truth  would  not  accept  miracles.  If  they 
refused  to  follow  the  moral  and  religious  guidance 
of  Moses,  miracles  could  not  compel  them  to  it. 
The  parable  does  not  bring  out,  except  by  impli- 
cations and  in  a  general  way,  the  faults  of  Christ's 
covetous  audience. 

All  that  we  learn  from  it  is  that  they  neglected 
the  laws  of  life  which  they  held  and  professed  to 
follow;  that  so  long  as  they  did  this,  further  evi- 
dence in  behalf  of  these  laws  was  useless. 

The  only  evidence  which  could  arouse  them  was 
the  execution  of  the  laws  which  they  had  known 
and  violated,  and  then  it  was  too  late. 


THE    UNCHANGEABLE    ISSUE    OF 
GOOD    AND   EVIL. 


IV. 


THE   UNCHANGEABLE  ISSUE  OF  GOOD 
AND    EVIL. 

But  as  for  me,  my  feet  luere  almost  gone  ;  my  steps  had  well 
nigh  slipped.  For  I  icas  envious  at  the  foolish,  when  I  saw  the 
prosperity  of  the  wicked.  —  Psalm  Ixxiii.  2,  3. 

These  verses  present  to  our  minds  the  picture  of  a 
man  confused  and  bewildered  in  his  attempts  to 
sound  the  mysteries  of  the  moral  government  of  the 
world.  Though  a  follower  of  God,  he  had  been  over- 
taken by  trial  and  disappointment ;  his  condition 
weighed  heavily  upon  his  spirits ;  help  seemed  afar 
off.  ' 

In  the  midst  of  this  depression  his  mind  had 
fastened  itself  on  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked.  How 
secure  their  position !  How  abundant  their  re- 
sources !  Their  strength  is  firm ;  they  are  not  in 
trouble  like  other  men  ;  they  are  not  plagued  like 
other  men  ;  their  eyes  stand  out  with  fatness  ;  they 
have  more  than  heart  can  wish.  Disturbing  thoughts 
press  upon  him.  Is  there  knowledge  with  God  ? 
Doth  the  Most  High   consider  ?     His  soul  is  dis- 


52     Hie  Unchangeahle  Issue  of  Good  and  Evil. 

quieted  by  the  conflict  within.  His  moral  judgments 
are  shaken  to  their  foundation ;  he  doubts  the  sig- 
nificance of  life.  Miserable  man !  But  he  enters 
the  sanctuary  of  God ;  new  light  breaks  in  upon  his 
soul ;  former  convictions  are  renewed  and  strength- 
ened ;  he  understands  that  God  is,  and  that  He  is  the 
rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  Him. 

Such  is  the  personal  experience  which  we  are  led 
to  consider.     What  may  we  gain  from  it  ? 

It  is  necessary  to  the  enjoyment  of  life  that  it 
should  have  a  purpose  and  strength  of  motive  in 
which  to  pursue  the  purpose.  Let  these  fail,  and 
paralysis  of  effort  must  ensue.  When  the  object  of 
living  is  taken  away,  we  fail  to  live ;  the  balance  of 
our  nature  is  destroyed,  and  we  either  despair  or 
wander  hither  and  thither,  seeking  rest  and  finding 
none. 

Many  temptations  assail  us  in  the  Christian  life  ; 
but  none  so  strong,  so  chilling,  so  deadly  as  that 
which  bids  us  forsake  God,  because  seemingly  for- 
saken of  Him.  When  tried  by  other  temptations 
God  is  our  refuge  and  strength,  —  our  strong  tower  in 
whom  we  shall  never  be  moved.  But  when  our 
refuge  fails  us,  whither  can  we  go  ?  Was  it  not 
thus  that  the  soul  of  the  Psalmist  was  shaken  ? 
What  else  could  have  wrung  from  him  the  cry, 
"  Yerily,  I  have  cleansed  my  heart  in  vain,  and 
washed  my  hands  in  innocency."  Few  will  ask 
whether  life  is  worth  living,  until  it  has  already 


The  UncJiangeaUe  Issue  of  Good  and  Evil.     53 

begun  to  pall  upon  their  senses,  and  few  will  ask 
whether  life  is  worth  living  worthily  until  faith  in 
God  begins  to  fail.  We  see  then  the  power  of  the 
temptation  that  presented  itself  in  the  prosperity  of 
the  wicked.  How  was  it  met  ?  By  seeking  com- 
munion with  God,  —  by  entering  His  sanctuary. 
Fellow  Christians,  this  temptation  presses  upon  us 
to-day.  How  are  we  to  meet  it  ?  Are  we  to  take 
comfort  in  the  thought  that  after  all  the  prosperity 
of  the  wicked  is  of  short  continuance  ?  That  thought 
brought  comfort  to  the  Psalmist,  and  it  might  to  us, 
could  we  but  reach  that  plane  of  spiritual  exaltation 
in  which  we  regard  the  wicked  solely  in  the  light  of 
enemies  of  God.  But  let  us  not  suppose  that  when 
Scripture  saith,  "  Vengeance  is  mine  :  I  will  repay, 
saith  the  Lord,"  that  it  teaches  us  to  be  patient,  only 
that  we  may  view  with  more  intense  satisfaction  the 
greater  punishment  prepared  of  the  Lord.  "  As  I 
live,  saith  the  Lord,  I  take  no  pleasure  in  the  death 
of  the  wicked."  Should  it  then  become  a  cause  of 
rejoicing  to  us  ?  Would  not  a  true  sense  of  our  own 
sin  keep  us  from  the  hasty  desire  to  be  the  witness 
of  another's  condemnation  ?  Is  it  not  rather  a  failure 
to  appreciate  the  true  meaning  of  the  Christian's  life 
that  awakens  such  a  hostile  interest  in  another's 
future  ?  The  life  that  we  should  live  in  the  flesh, 
the  life  that  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God,  concerns  us 
as  individuals.  It  is  a  personal  question  whether 
we  shall  serve    God  or  not,  and    the  fate  of  the 


54     The  Unchangeable  Issue  of  Good  and  Evil. 

wicked  can  only  have  an  interest  for  us  as  we  ask 
ourselves  the  question,  —  not  whether  the  wicked 
can  sin  and  live,  but  whether  we  can  sin  and  live. 
Further  than  this,  the  question,  What  shall  be  the 
end  of  this  man  ?  deserves  the  same  answer  as 
Peter's  question.  What  shall  this  man  do  ?  What 
is  that  to  thee  ? 

But  though  we  may  show  the  unreasonableness 
of  the  sin,  let  us  not  belittle  the  temptation.  The 
two  stand  on  different  footings.  The  prosperity  of 
the  wicked  becomes  a  stumbling-block  in  propor- 
tion as  the  prosperity  of  the  righteous  in  this  world 
is  despaired  of ;  and  it  is  not  natural  nor  easy  to 
be  resigned  when  the  objects  of  this  life  have  to 
be  set  aside,  and  when  the  way  in  which  we  are 
suffered  to  serve  God  no  longer  brings  enjoyment. 
To  glorify  God  in  all  things  furnishes  a  lofty  pur- 
pose for  life ;  but  it  is  far  easier  to  fulfil  it  when 
our  work,  though  undertaken  from  higher  motives, 
is  yet  sweet  for  its  own  sake.  Yes,  to  live  for  God, 
when  filled  with  life  and  energy,  requires  a  conse- 
crated spirit ;  but  it  requires  renewed  consecration 
to  live  for  Him  in  a  time  of  waiting,  of  suffering,  of 
reproach. 

It  is  no  light  matter  when  in  a  storm  of  trial  the 
cables  that  bind  us  to  our  moorings,  which  give 
fixedness  to  our  life,  begin  to  work,  and  we  are  forced 
out  upon  the  sea  of  God's  judgment.  Then,  if  we 
have  not  learned  to  transfer  our  hopes  of   happiness 


The  UncliangeaUe  Issue  of  Good  and  Evil.     55 

from  this  world  to  the  next  and  to  trust  in  God 
alone,  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked  becomes  a  snare 
to  us.     It  is  easy  to  deceive  ourselves  in  this  mat- 
ter, to  mistake  self-sufficiency  or  self-complacency 
for  trust  in  God ;  but  in  the   day  that  He  maketh 
His  power  known,  when  He  layeth  His  finger  upon 
the  springs  of  our  self-confidence,  and  the  streams 
thereof    are   dried    up,   we    are    undeceived.      The 
soul  that  seemed  strong  becomes  weak ;  instead  of 
submitting,    it   rebels;    instead     of    faith,    doubts. 
Overcome  by  its  fears  and  disappointments,  it  looks 
many  ways  before  it  looks  up.     It  may  steady  itself 
by  looking  to  lower  sources  of   comfort  than  the 
highest.     It  may  find  shelter  from  its  distractions  in 
stoicism  ;  it  may  find  it  in  expediency  ;  it  may  find 
it  in  meditating  on  the  death  of  the  wicked ;  but 
never  will  it  find  the  joy  and  peace  of  believing, 
until,  forsaking  these  props  which  God  has  given  us 
in  our  weakness,  it  looks  to  God  alone.     Christ  hath 
broken  down  the  middle  wall  of  partition ;  He  hath 
made   both  one;   by  Him  we  have  access    to  the 
Father;    through  Him  we  know  the    depth   of  the 
Father's  love  and  the  exceeding  greatness  of  His 
power  toward  us  who  believe. 

Let  our  hearts  be  filled  with  this  truth,  and  pros- 
perity of  the  wicked  would  trouble  us  no  longer ;  we 
would  cease  our  efforts  to  discover  the  relations  of 
others  to  God  before  we  are  willing  to  recognize  our 
own;    but  filled    with  the    consciousness    of    His 


56     The  UnchangeaUe  Issue  of  Good  and  Evil. 

presence,  and  strengthened  by  His  might,  our  spirit 
would  find  utterance  in  the  exultant  strain  ot  the 
Psalmist :  "  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  Thee ; 
and  there  is  none  upon  earth  that  I  desire  beside 
Thee." 


V. 


THE    PRESENCE    OF    GOD    THE 
BELIEVER'S    SECURITY. 


y. 


THE  PEESENCE   OF   GOD   THE  BELIEVEE'S 

SECUEITY. 

Have  not  I  commanded  thee  ?  Be  strong  and  of  good  cour- 
age ;  he  not  afraid ,  neither  he  thou  dismayed:  for  the  Lord  thy 
God  is  with  thee  whithersoever  thou  goest.  — Joshua  i.  9. 

These  words  to  Joshua  are  the  justification  and 
support  of  every  man  whose  life  receives  its  direc- 
tion from  faith  in  God. 

They  were  uttered  at  the  beginning  of  a  new 
epoch  in  the  fortunes  of  the  chosen  people.  They 
had  reference  to  the  experiences  of  a  new  and 
untried  mode  of  life.  Wandering  was  to  give  place 
to  activity  ;  the  life  of  the  desert  to  the  life  of  arms. 
The  exigencies  of  travel  through  barren  and  inhos- 
pitable regions  were  to  give  place  to  the  exigencies 
of  battle.  Unknown,  unfamiliar  paths  were  to  be 
entered  upon.  The  future  might  well  seem  full  of 
uncertainty  and  peril.  The  tribes  of  Israel  were  but 
men.  They  were  susceptible  to  the  fluctuations  of 
feeling.  They  had  witnessed  acts  of  divine  power ; 
they  had  visible  tokens  of  the  divine  presence,  but 


60     Tlie  Presence  of  God  the  Believer's  Security. 

these  had  left  their  personal  freedom  and  individual- 
ity unchanged.  Theocracy  had  left  all  the  essentials 
of  manhood  intact.  They  were  not  mechanical  in- 
struments propelled  by  irresistible  divine  impulses. 
Like  us,  they  walked  by  faith,  not  by  sight.  No 
less  faith  because  they  had  been  directed  by  a 
pillar  of  cloud  by  day  and  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night. 
Fire  and  cloud  could  not  satisfy  hunger  nor  assuage 
thirst.  They  were  signs  of  God's  presence;  but 
they  were  not  sufficient  to  satisfy  distrust  and 
unbelief.  Faith  in  the  providence  of  God  was  as 
necessary  then  as  now  to  promote  hopefulness  and 
prevent  despondency.  Hitherto  the  history  of  Israel 
had  been  conspicuously  a  divine  history,  —  a  series  of 
undertakings  whose  origin  and  continuance  had 
been  found  in  faith  in  a  divine  command  which 
prompted  and  inspired  them.  This  history  possessed 
meaning  and  purpose  only  as  it  was  related  to  God. 
The  instant  that  this  relation  was  broken  it  became 
obscure,  meaningless,  unintelligible.  A  successful 
issue  depended  wholly  upon  its  development  in  the 
line  of  the  original  intent  in  w^hich  it  was  conceived. 
The  moment  that  the  Israelite  fell  into  unbelief,  he 
was  like  a  man  walking  in  his  sleep,  who  wakes  and 
wonders  at  his  situation  and  what  has  brought  him 
there.  His  life  had  been  modelled  upon  a  divine 
plan.  To  drop  this  plan  or  to  forget  its  author  was 
to  make  his  situation  unbearable  and  ridiculous. 
His  only  hope  was  the  continuance  and  assurance 


The  Presence  of  God  the  Believer's  Securiti/.     61 

of  divine  assistance ;  and  this  assurance  is  not  lack- 
ing. "  Have  not  I  commanded  thee  ?  .  .  .  The  Lord 
thy  God  is  with  thee  whithersoever  thou  goest." 

These  words  possess  grandeur  and  sublimity  because 
they  link  the  feebleness  of  human  efforts  with  the 
divine  efficiency  ;  because  they  secure  to  finite  beings 
the  fixed  purpose  and  certainty  of  accomplishment 
which  belongs  to  infinite  power  and  wisdom.  It  is 
the  help  of  God  securing  the  safety  and  success  of 
those  laboring  under  His  direction.  The  courage  and 
faith  and  hope  which  is  aroused  by  the  presence  of 
earthly  champions  might  well  be  aroused  by  the 
presence  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  All  that  the  pres- 
ence of  Napoleon  was  to  the  French ;  of  Charles  XIL 
to  the  Swedes ;  of  Frederic  the  Great  to  the  Prus- 
sians, —  so  much,  and  more,  was  the  presence  of  God 
among  the  tribes  of  Israel.  His  leadership  was 
the  inspiration  which  infused  courage  into  every 
heart,  which  nerved  every  arm,  which  transformed 
each  situation  of  peril  and  labor  into  an  oppor- 
tunity for  eager  and  hopeful  service.  Trust  in  God 
at  once  became  an  all-persuasive,  modifying  power 
in  every  man's  life.  All  things  were  viewed  in 
relation  to  God,  and  by  virtue  of  this  relation 
acquired  dignity  and  sacredness,  gained  in  single- 
ness and  sincerity  of  purpose,  and  increased  in  power 
of  achievement.  It  is  this  aspect  of  the  truth  which 
we  would  consider  this  morning,  and  consider  it 
as  men  who,  already  believing  in  the  omnipresence 


62     The  Presence  of  God  the  Believer's  Security, 

and  omnipotence  of  God,  desire  to  gain  a  nearer 
personal  manifestation  of  it,  and  above  all  to  gain 
the  constancy,  courage,  and  hope,  which  ever  sprhigs 
from  the  presence  and  power  of  God  working  in  and 
for  His  people.  Joshua  was  of  all  men  the  most 
faithful  in  the  Jewish  host;  and  yet  to  him  was 
the  charge  given  to  rely  upon  God  when  tempted  to 
fear  and  dismay.  The  same  charge,  the  same  prom- 
ise, is  needful  for  us  to-day.  The  living,  watchful, 
personal  care  of  God  is  the  only  guarantee  which  is 
given  us  that  loyalty  to  His  commandments  will 
insure  success  and  not  end  in  confused  disaster.  It 
is  then  a  guarantee,  of  which  we  do  well  to  remind 
ourselves ;  for  upon  it  hangs  the  consistent  regu- 
lation of  life.  We  are  not  to  regard  this  as  a  newly- 
discovered  truth.  Joshua  had  been  swayed  by  it 
all  his  life.  It  was  an  old  truth  ;  but  one  which  in 
its  application  was  to  be  ever  new,  —  an  old  truth  to 
be  applied  to  new  circumstances.  So  far  as  Joshua 
was  concerned,  nothing  could  be  better  known,  or 
partake  less  of  the  nature  of  a  discovery  than  this 
word  of  God.  We  make  the  mistake  at  times  of 
trying  to  force  freshness  of  discovery  upon  facts 
and  principles  which  have  long  been  known  to  us, 
and  which  have  long  possessed  an  active  influence 
in  our  life.  It  is  not  possible  for  us  to  look  at 
Christianity  as  something  foreign  to  us.  So  much 
of  it  is  involved  in  our  laws,  customs,  habits  of 
thought,  that  it  is  no  longer  possible  for  us  to  view 


The  Presence  of  God  the  Believer's  Security.     63 

it  as  a  new  system.  We  have  not  the  foreign  point 
of  view  necessary.  Yet  the  effort  is  often  made  to 
gain  a  like  impression  from  Christian  facts,  as  though 
they  had  previously  been  unknown.  Men  strain 
after  the  pleasure  of  new  discoveries  when  they  are 
traversing  ground  in  which  they  have  long  been 
domiciled. 

"  Have  not  I  commanded  thee  ? "  This  injunction 
has  reference  to  the  future ;  but  its  force  comes 
from  the  past,  from  facts  patent  in  history.  It  is 
the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  .Jacob,  of  Joseph 
and  Moses,  who  speaks,  —  the  God  whom  Joshua 
had  served  and  worshipped.  Joshua  had  no  need 
to  ask.  Who  is  the  Lord,  that  I  should  serve  Him  ? 
"Have  not  I  commanded  thee?"  I,  the  God  of  Moses, 
who  wrought  wonders  in  Egypt  and  in  the  Eed 
Sea  ;  who  fed  His  people  with  manna  in  the  desert,  — 
I  have  commanded  thee.  It  was  an  old  story,  not 
a  new  one ;  as  I  have  been  with  Moses  so  will  I  be 
with  thee.  It  was  impossible  for  Joshua  to  doubt 
the  existence  of  God  with  the  marked  providences 
of  his  nation's  history  before  him.  He  had  no 
doubts  about  the  personality  of  God  and  His  direct 
agency  in  controlling  the  affairs  of  earth.  What  he 
needed,  and  what  he  received,  was  the  assurance 
that  this  commanding  "  I "  should  sustain  his  long- 
continued  interest  in  him.  Have  not  I,  whom  thou 
hast  long  known,  commanded  thee  ?  It  is  impossi- 
ble for  us  without  thouoht  and   reflection  to  fulfil 


64     TJie  Presence  of  God  the  Believer's  Seciirity, 

the  divine  purpose  concerning  us.  The  natural 
desire  is  to  act  without  thought ;  to  choose  in- 
stinctively the  best,  the  truest  course.  Quick  percep- 
tion, strong  decision,  resolute  endeavor,  —  we  would 
have  all  these  without  effort. 

"  Have  not  I  commanded  thee  ? "  And  yet  how 
many  thoughts  might  cluster  around  that  "I;"  how 
many  memories  might  it  recall  to  Joshua  of  dangers 
escaped,  of  thirst  relieved,  of  hunger  satisfied ;  how 
many  marks  of  divine  favor  and  'divine  displeasure. 
Joshua  then  would  find  his  inspiration  in  his  recol- 
lections. It  is  his  faith,  trust,  obedience,  which  kept 
him  within  the  presence  of  God.  Joshua  and  God 
had  a  near  understanding  of  each  other.  So  it  is 
with  many  who  have  followed  in  Joshua's  course. 
The  "  I "  of  their  past  history  is  sufficient  to  imbue 
them  with  patience  and  endurance  for  the  future. 
Yet  it  is  here  that  we  need  a  reminder.  We  may 
yet.  have  to  learn  the  lesson  of  reading  God  into  our 
past  history.  Answers  to  prayer  have  been  many. 
Deliverance  from  evil,  forgiveness  of  sins,  provision 
for  daily  needs,  —  all  these  have  been  experienced  ; 
and  yet  we  do  not  distinctly  recognize  in  them  the 
presence  of  God.  We  have  a  sufficient  stock  of 
available  memories ;  but  we  do  not  draw  on  them. 
The  "  I "  of  God  has  not  been  mastered  as  it  should. 
Our  knowledge  of  it  has  not  increased.  "  Have  not  I 
commanded  thee  "  has  not  been  a  growing  power 
in  life.     The  providence  of  God  has  been  accepted 


The  Presence  of  God  the  Believer's  Security.     65 

as  a  matter  of  course ;  but  providence  is  generally 
considered  of  God  around  us,  and  has  lost  the  power 
of  personal  incitement.  The  connection  between 
the  leadership  of  God  and  the  security  of  the  Chris- 
tian is  obscured.  The  certainty  which  the  facts  of 
observation  and  of  history  might  establish  are  lost 
sight  of  in  the  attempts  to  force  a  feeling  of  faith, 
when  the  grounds  on  which  that  faith  rests  are 
scarcely  held  worthy  of  consideration. 

The  same  promise  is  necessary  and  needful 
to-day ;  but  its  strength  lies  in  past  fulfilments. 
The  power  and  presence  of  God  are  the  only 
guarantee  that  loyalty  to  His  commandments  will 
insure  success  and  not  end  in  confusion  and  disas- 
ter. It  is  then  a  guarantee  which  w^e  do  well  to 
keep  in  mind.  On  it  hangs  the  consistent  regulation 
of  life.  It  matters  little  what  the  phase  of  experi- 
ence is  which  leads  us  to  value  this  guarantee,  — • 
whether  it  is  Canaanitish  hordes  which  are  obscuring 
the  faithfulness  of  God,  or  the  obstacles,  difficulties, 
and  dangers  of  present  experience.  It  was  God's 
presence  in  the  life  which  was  to  sustain  Joshua. 
It  did  not  have  reference  to  the  next  world.  It 
was  in  a  material  conquest  that  God's  assistance  w^as 
promised.  Joshua  possessed  no  infallible  certitude 
of  success  beyond  what  is  promised  to  all.  The 
extension,  instead  of  the  limitation  of  the  sphere  of 
God's  activity  and  influence,  should  be  the  natural 
result  of  faith  in  God ;  and  the  nearer  we  approach 


66     Tlie  Presence  of  God  the  Believer  s  Security, 

to  Him,  the  farther  we  understand  Him,  the  more 
readily  do  we  acknowledge  the  constancy  of  His 
relation  to  us.  What  is  the  object  of  the  teaching 
of  apostles  and  prophets  if  it  is  not  to  bring  in 
relation  to  God  every  sphere  of  human  activity,  and 
to  make  the  divine  presence  felt  throughout  all  the 
relations  of  life,  —  even  those  in  whose  workings 
and  results  we  are  apt  to  recognize  no  higher 
efficiency  than  ourselves. 

"Have  not  I  commanded  thee?"  Joshua  might 
have  readily  supposed  that  on  the  numbers  of  his 
hosts  and  on  their  own  right  arms  depended  the 
victory.  But  he  is  taught  that  his  whole  line  of 
life  had  been  the  result  of  God's  commands,  and 
that  in  all  doubtful  issues  it  was  God's  presence 
which  insured  the  victory.  "  Be  not  afraid ;  neither 
be  thou  dismayed."  As  his  position  would  become 
ridiculous  if  at  this  point  in  his  career  he  should 
forget  the  past  history  of  himself  and  nation,  so 
his  position  would  become  one  of  danger  if  God 
forgot  him.  It  is  against  the  possibility  of  this 
latter  result  that  he  is  warned :  "  The  Lord  thy 
God  is  with  thee  whithersoever  thou  goest." 

In  what  further  respects  may  we  apply  this  crisis 
in  Joshua's  history  to  ourselves  ?  It  is  all  so  famil- 
iar. There  is  nothing  new  or  strange  in  it.  Life 
directed  by  God,  sustained  by  his  presence,  rewarded 
according  to  his  promise.  First,  we  may  observe 
that   in  the  present  instance  the  character  toward 


The  Presence  of  God  the  Believer's  Security.     67 

whom  our  attention  is  directed  was  a  man  of  sur- 
passing activity.  A  ruler  invested  with  sole  res- 
ponsibility for  supplying  the  minds  of  an  entire 
people.  His  life  would  certainly  be  a  full  and  busy 
one.  It  could  not  be  otherwise.  It  was  the  direc- 
tion then  of  activity,  not  its  suppression  ;  its  encour- 
agement, and  not  its  discouragement,  which  we 
observe.  It  is  the  picture  of  a  busy  man  urged  to 
his  work  as  the  Lord's  work,  not  taken  from  his 
work  to  serve  the  Lord  ;  a  man  always  enabled  to 
identify  his  life  with  the  service  of  God  ;  always  able 
to  find  his  assurance  in  the  presence  of  God.  This 
is  not  an  exceptional  personal  history  nor  an  excep- 
tional mark  of  the  divine  favor.  It  is  intended  to 
be  the  history  of  every  Christian,  is  his  history  so 
far  as  he  is  a  Christian. 

"  Have  not  I  commanded  thee  ? "  These  are  almost 
the  exact  words  of  Christ  to  His  disciples,  bidding 
them  enjoin  upon  the  world  all  these  things  that  He 
had  commanded  them,  and  promising  His  presence  in 
their  midst.  "  And  lo,  I  am  wdth  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world."  The  New  Testament  is 
the  consummation  of  the  Old.  The  glory  of  the 
latter  is  greater  than  that  of  the  former.  The 
attestations  of  Christ  support  and  intensify  the 
divine  promise  made  to  Joshua. 

It  is  a  promise  not  to  be  exhausted  in  a  mo- 
ment, or  momentarily  accepted  and  understood ;  but 
one  of  which  our  appreciation  will  increase  as  we 
learn  more  and  more  of  the  ways  of  God  and  man. 


VI. 

THE  TKIUMPH  OF  PERSONAL  FAITH 
IN  THE  MIDST  OF  NATIONAL 
JUDGMENTS. 


VI. 


THE    TEIUMPH    OF    PERSONAL    FAITH    IN 
THE  MIDST   OF  NATIONAL  JUDGMENTS. 

Wlierefore  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord,  ye  scornful  men,  that 
rule  this  people  which  is  in  Jerusalem,  because  ye  have  said,  We 
have  made  a  covenant  with  death,  and  with  hell  are  we  at  agree- 
ment;  ivhen  the  overjiowing  scourge  shall  pass  through,  it  shall 
not  come  unto  us ;  for  we  have  made  lies  our  refuge,  and  under 
falsehood  have  we  hid  ourselves:  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord 
God,  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  for  a  foundation  a  stone,  a  tried 
stone,  a  precious  corner-stone,  a  sure  foundation ;  he  that  belieo- 
eth  shall  not  make  haste.  And  I  will  make  judgment  the  line 
and  righteousness  the  plummet;  and  the  hail  shall  sweep  away 
the  refuge  of  lies,  and  the  waters  shall  overflow  the  hiding-place. 
And  your  covenant  with  death  shall  be  disannulled,  and  your 
agreement  with  hell  shall  not  stand  ;  when  the  overf  owing  scourge 
shall  pass  through,  then  ye  shall  be  trodden  down  by  it. — 
Isaiah  xxviii.  11-18. 

The  verses  forming  the  text  were  uttered  during 
the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  King  of  Judah.  They  con- 
tain an  accusation,  a  judgment,  and  a  promise. 
In  their  bearing  they  are  applicable  rather  to  the 
rulers  and  to  the  people  at  large  than  to  their 
king. 

Hezekiah  himself  was  a  reformer,  and  his  reign 
bore  a  bright  contrast  to  the  idolatrous   reign   of 


72  The  Triumph  of  Persoiial  Faith 

Ahaz,  who  preceded  him,  and  the  dark  ungodly 
reign  of  Manasseh,  who  followed  him ;  conse- 
quently  we  may  assume  that  this  prophecy  w\as 
uttered  against  the  ungodly  spirit  and  temper  of 
the  time,  especially  as  manifested  in  those  high 
in  authority  in  Jerusalem.  Let  us  proceed,  then, 
to  consider  more  definitely  the  occasion  of  the 
prophecy,  the  judgment  which  it  predicts,  and 
the  gleam  of  hope  which  brightens  it. 

Judgment  and  promise,  condemnation  and  bless- 
ing, are  the  two  lines  which  run  side  by  side 
through  the  word  of  God.  They  penetrate  every 
message,  they  furnish  the  clew  to  every  heavenly 
dispensation.  Sometimes  when  they  precede  the 
event  they  are  bound  together  and  intended  as 
instruction,  warning,  and  comfort  to  a  collective 
people ;  at  other  times,  to  a  backsliding  generation 
they  indicate  that  there  is  still  room  for  repent- 
ance ;  and  then  again  we  find  them  following  the 
event,  but  each  pursuing  its  independent  course, 
each  alike  to  be  fulfilled.  There  will  be  judg- 
ment,—  a  judgment  which  shall  destroy.  There 
will  be  blessing,  but  it  will  be  enjoyed  only  by 
those  whom  the  judgment  leaves  untouched. 

Which  of  these  three  courses  is  indicated  in  the 
text?  Is  it  the  announcement  of  a  probation  yet 
to  be,  on  which  is  conditioned  two  results,  one 
good,  the  other  evil  ?  Does  it  declare  a  punish- 
ment which  may  yet  be  averted.  Or  thirdly,  does 
it  speak  of  irrevocable  judgment? 


in  the  Midst  of  National  Judgments.         73 

It  is  only  necessary  to  give  our  attention  to  the 
words  of  the  prophecy  to  reach  a  conclusion.  What 
is  the  accusation  ?  It  is  not  a  single  offence  which 
is  charged  upon  Judah,  neither  yielding  to  sin 
under  stress  of  temptation,  but  a  thoughtful,  de- 
liberate, permanent  abandonment  of  every  princi- 
ple of  life  and  truth,  and  a  wilful  self-determined 
compact  with  every  form  of  evil.  The  charge  is 
the  stronger  for  lacking  specification.  It  is  vain 
to  enumerate  varieties  of  sin  when  the  whole  na- 
ture is  corrupt.  It  is  vain  to  criticise  parts  of 
religious  worship  when  the  whole  system  is  honey- 
combed with  falsehood.  When  the  fountain  is 
known  to  be  corrupted,  there  is  no  need  to  analyze 
the  streams  which  flow  from  it.  When  mortal  sick- 
ness has  seized  upon  its  victim,  it  is  unnecessary 
to  emphasize  the  various  symptoms  of  approaching 
death.  We  tell  him  that  life  has  practically  left 
him,  that  the  hopes  which  he  may  have  founded 
on  deceptive  sensations  are  false,  and  that  the 
symptoms  which  he  may  still  experience  are  but 
accompaniments  of  the  end  which  is  at  hand.  It  is 
such  a  message  which  Isaiah  bears  to  sin-stricken 
Judah.  He  sees  not  the  symptoms  of  disease,  but 
of  death.  His  eye  quickened  and  purified  by  divine 
truth  sees  but  one  issue  to  the  moral  corruption 
around  him.  As  with  our  natural  foresif^ht  we  can 
prophesy  the  fatal  havoc  of  the  plague  when  all 
the  conditions  which  tend  to  develop  it  are  pres- 


74  The  Triumph  of  Personal  Faith 

ent,  so  could  Isaiah  with  his  divinely  illumined 
vision  predict  the  judgment  which  aw^aited  an 
apostate   nation. 

But  the  words  of  the  text  suggest  more  than  the 
mere  fact  of  present  wickedness  and  approaching 
destruction.  They  reveal  to  us  the  profound  in- 
nermost causes  of  the  terrible  imminent  fatality. 
Judah  had  not  only  separated  from  God,  but  had 
defied  Him.  They  had  seen  afar  off  the  oncoming 
of  the  overflowing  scourge,  and  they  marked  its  pro- 
gress with  cool  disdain.  They  had  made  a  covenant 
with  death,  an  agreement  with  hell.  Lies  should 
be  their  refuge,  and  falsehood  their  hiding-place. 
Against  this  vain  presumption  the  prophet  speaks. 
As  the  builder  tests  the  correctness  of  his  work  by 
the  line  and  plummet,  so  shall  their  work  be  tested 
by  the  line  and  plummet  of  judgment  and  right- 
eousness. The  pelting  hail  shall  sweep  away  their 
refuge,  and  the  waters  shall  overflow  their  hiding- 
place.  Far  from  escaping  the  overflowing  scourge, 
they  shall  be  trodden  down  by  it. 

Tliis  is  the  burden  of  the  message  which  Isaiah 
had  for  the  people  of  God  twenty-five  centuries  ago. 
Is  the  instruction  which  it  contains  out  of  date 
because  of  its  antiquity  ?  Shall  we  admire  the  He- 
brew prophet  for  the  force  of  his  diction  and  the 
power  of  his  figures,  and  pass  over  the  lesson  which 
he  teaches  ?  Shall  we  concede  to  him  the  merits  of 
style  and  deny  to  him  the  power  of  truth ;  or  does 


in  the  Midst  of  National  Judgrnents.         75 

truth  change  from  generation  to  generation  ?  Does 
it  vary  with  race  and  climate  ?  Is  there  one  truth 
for  the  Hebrew  and  another  for  the  Gentile  ?  Was 
the  Gospel  preached  to  the  Jews  only,  or  also  to 
the  Greeks  ?  "  All  Scripture,"  says  the  apostle,  "  is 
given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable  for 
teaching,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction 
in  righteousness "  (2  Tim.  iii.  16).  "  In  old  time 
holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by 
the  Holy  Ghost"  (2  Pet.  i.  21).  None  who  reflect 
that  the  prophets  were  in  the  line  of  truth  which 
began  with  the  promise  made  in  Eden  and  culmi- 
nated in  Christ,  will  deny  that  their  teaching  re- 
tains its  power.  "  All  these  things  happened  unto 
them  for  examples,  and  were  written  for  our  admo- 
nition, upon  whom  the  ends  of  the  world  are  come  " 
(1  Cor.  X.  11).  Let  us  consider  the  text  in  this 
light,  as  an  illustration  of  God's  dealing  with  men, 
and  as  necessarily  having  an  application  to  us 
because  we  are  men. 

What,  then,  had  Judah  done  to  provoke  such  a 
denunciation?  The  general  charge  of  lies  and 
falsehood  must  have  its  basis.  It  is  only  neces- 
sary to  read  the  historical  and  prophetical  testi- 
mony of  the  time  to  discover  what  basis.  The 
whole  range  of  life  at  Jerusalem  was  corrupted. 
They  eat,  drank,  and  slept  in  an  atmosphere  per- 
meated with  falsehood.  There  was  not  a  relation 
of  life  which  escaped  the  pestilential  influence.    The 


76  The  Triumpli  of  Personal  Faith 

entire  social  tissue  was  vitiated.  Oppression,  po- 
litical scheming,  idolatry,  were  rife.  The  poor  were 
ground  into  the  dust.  For  political  integrity  they 
trusted  to  political  combinations.  Heathen  gods 
absorbed  their  worship.  These  aspects  of  indi- 
vidual and  national  life  all  point  the  same  lesson. 
They  were  all  parts  of  the  fabric  of  falsehood  to 
which  every  sphere  of  life  furnished  its  portion. 
They  had  given  the  lie  to  all  their  past  history. 
They  had  forgotten  Moses,  David,  and  Solomon, 
and  the  God  in  whom  they  had  trusted.  The 
commandment,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself,"  influenced  them  no  longer.  David's  con- 
fidence in  God  and  its  proved  justification,  Solo- 
mon's prayer  and  its  abundant  answer,  were  lost 
upon  them. 

Nevertheless  this  was  a  time  of  reformation, — a 
real  reformation, —  though  one  which  lost  itself  in 
formalism  and  diplomacy.  The  people  were  animated 
with  the  desire  to  fulfil  religious  requirements,  but 
they  lacked  the  heart  to  do  it  in  a  religious  spirit. 
They  sacrificed  to  God,  but  put  their  trust  in 
Egyy)t.  Rebuke,  warning,  threatening,  promise,  alike 
failed  to  open  their  eyes  to  their  misdeeds  and  to 
the  judgment  which  attended  upon  them.  In  vain 
the  prophet  cried,  "  Woe  to  them  that  go  down  to 
Egypt  for  help ;  .  .  .  but  they  look  not  unto  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel."  In  vain  the  Divine  displeasure  was 
declared  against   sacrifice   and   fasts   which  belied 


in  the  Midst  of  National  Judgments.         11 

the  truth  they  were  intended  to  inculcate,  and  were 
performed  without  meaning  and  without  effect. 

Yet  we  are  not  to  forget  that  the  king  in  whose 
reign  Isaiah  spake  was  truly  a  man  of  God.  His 
life  furnishes  three  prominent  instances  of  personal 
prayer  to  God,  —  one  at  the  enthusiastic  national 
observance  of  the  passover  which  marked  the  be- 
ginning of  his  reign,  that  the  feast  might  be  accepted 
in  the  spirit,  and  the  irregularities  in  the  letter  for- 
given ;  one  that  the  nation  might  be  delivered  from 
the  Assyrian  army  which  threatened  them;  one 
that  his  own  life  endangered  by  sickness  might  be 
spared.  All  were  heard :  the  Lord  accepted  the 
passover ;  the  Assyrian  army  was  humbled ;  his 
own  life  was  prolonged.  These  were  conspicuous 
proofs  that  Hezekiah  realized  wherein  the  source 
of  all  real  strength  lay.  They  were,  likewise,  proofs 
that  the  Lord  had  not  deserted  His  people,  that 
His  ear  was  open  to  their  cry,  that  He  was  ready 
and  willing  to  hear  the  prayers  of  all  who  would 
put  their  trust  in  Him ;  and  we  ■  find  it  plainly 
recorded  that  Hezekiah  trusted  God,  for  (2  Chron. 
xxxi.  21)  in  every  work  that  he  began  in  the 
service  of  the  house  of  God,  and  in  the  law,  and 
in  the  commandments  to  seek  his  God,  he  did  it 
with  all  his  heart,  and  prospered.  But  we  also 
find  later  that  the  mercy  of  God  was  accepted  by 
Hezekiah  without  due  acknowledfrment  or  thank- 
fulness  (2  Chron.  xxxii.  25),  that  he  rendered  not 


78  The  Triumph  of  Personal  Faith 

again  according  to  the  benefit  due  unto  him,  for 
his  heart  was  lifted  up;  and  even  to  the  king 
whose  reign  was  a  reminder  of  the  glories  of  Solo- 
mon, it  was  foretold  that  his  descendants  and  their 
possessions  should  go  in  captivity  to  Babylon. 

There  had  been  a  wide-spreading,  sincere,  zeal- 
ous reformation,  but  the  pride  of  prosperity  sapped 
its  strength ;  adversity  had  prompted  a  speedy 
return  to  God,  but  the  adversity  passed  and  God 
was  forgotten.  Men  began  to  loosen  their  hold  on 
the  sure  foundation,  and  in  the  succeeding  reign 
of  Manasseh  Judah  and  Jerusalem  did  worse  than 
the  heathen  whom  the  Lord  had  destroyed  before 
them;  and  the  Lord  spake  to  Manasseh  and  his 
people,  but  they  would  not  hearken.  Indeed,  a 
broader  view  of  the  faith  and  practice  of  the  gen- 

*  erations  preceding  Hezekiah  and  subsequent  to  him 
enables  us  to  understand  more  fully  the  appli- 
cability of  the  words  of  the  text:  "And  I  will 
make  judgment  the  line  and  righteousness  the 
plummet;  and  the  hail  shall  sweep  away  the  refuge 
of  lies,  and  the  waters  shall  overflow  the  hiding- 
place." 

Isaiah  had  prophesied  during  the  reigns  of 
Uzziah,  Jotham,  and  Ahaz ;  and  whilst  he  uttered 
only  the  words  of  the  Lord,  he  knew  full  well  the 

.character  of  the  people  to  whom  he  uttered  them. 
But  whilst  he  knew  his  countrymen,  he  also  knew 
the  Lord.      He  could  predict  with  confidence  that 


in  the  Midst  of  National  Judgments.        79 

lies  and  falsehood  should  be  swept  away  together 
with  those  who  trusted  to  them.  He  could  also  pre- 
dict that  in  contrast  to  this  treacherous  refuge  the 
"  Lord  had  laid  in  Zion  a  tried  stone,  a  precious 
corner-stone,  a  sure  foundation ;  he  that  believeth 
shall  not  make  haste."  The  word  of  God  standeth 
sure.  In  the  midst  of  panic,  when  all  confidence 
fails,  when  men  are  asking  what  shall  the  end  be, 
when  the  social  fabric  is  trembling  on  the  brink 
of  dissolution,  still  might  the  faithful  Israelite  say, 
"God  is  our  refuge  and  strength,  a  very  present 
help  in  time  of  trouble "  (Ps.  xlvi.  2).  God  was 
present  with  His  people,  His  purposes  in  salvation 
would  not  fail.  He  had  laid  a  foundation  which 
would  inevitably  secure  the  safety  of  all  who  rested 
upon  it. 

This  was  the  truth  delivered  to  the  time  of 
Isaiah ;  it  is  the  same  truth  which  is  delivered  to 
us  to-day.  "  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy 
the  law,  or  the  prophets ;  I  am  not  come  to  destroy, 
but  to  fulfil,"  was  the  admonition  which  our  Lord 
gave  to  His  disciples.  The  principles  of  truth 
which  they  declared,  He  reiterated.  He  was  the 
prophet  who  confirmed  the  testimony  of  all  the 
prophets  who  had  preceded  Him  and  who  fore- 
shadowed Him.  The  seal  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
was  affixed  to  the  utterances  of  His  servants  who 
had  been  sent  to  prepare  the  way  before  Him.  The 
will  of  God  is  unchanging.     The  kingdom  of  God 


80  Tlie  Trmmph  of  Personal  Fcdth 

is  a  unit.  The  Jewish  church  and  the  Christian 
church  are  one.  Jews  were  not  saved  because 
Jewish,  nor  because  of  circumcision ;  they  were 
saved  because  children  of  God.  The  church  of 
God  is  not  founded  on  blood,  but  in  spirit  and  in 
truth.  It  is  dominated  not  by  national  boundaries, 
but  by  the  possession  of  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
baptism ;  and  because  of  this  unity  its  teaching  is 
limited  neither  to  race  nor  time,  but  instructs  the 
church  of  every  nation  in  every  age.  It  has  the 
same  message  to  raise  against  greed,  oppression, 
political  corruption,  idolatry,  whether  gross  or  re- 
fined, which  it  raised  by  the  mouth  of  Isaiah.  It 
has  the  same  protest  to  enter  against  formalism, 
against  lip  worship,  against  reformation  whose  only 
point  is  the  resuscitation  of  elaborate  rituals.  "  They 
are  a  trouble  unto  me,  I  am  weary  to  bear  them," 
is  the  word  of  the  Lord ;  and  in  contrast  to  such 
false  worship  He  commands,  "  Wash  you,  make  you 
clean ;  put  away  the  evil  of  your  doings  from  be- 
fore mine  eyes;  cease  to  do  evil;  learn  to  do  well; 
seek  judgment;  relieve  the  oppressed;  judge  the 
fatherless;  plead  for  the  widow"  (Is.  i.  16,  17). 

Will  this  commandment  fall  on  unheeding  ears 
as  it  did  then  ?  Does  this  generation  say  unto  the 
prophets.  Speak  unto  us  smooth  things,  prophesy 
deceits  ?  Have  we  not  reason  to  fear  that  there  is 
the  same  callousness  of  heart  now  as  existed  then  ? 
Is  there  not  the  same  blindness  to  the  truth,  the 


in  the  Midst  of  National  Judgments.         81 

same  unwillingness  to  hear  it,  the  same  determi- 
nation to  ignore  it,  and  with  all  the  same  false 
pretentious  worship  which  desires  prophets,  but 
desires  also  to  dictate  their  words,  which  desires 
to  worship,  but  will  carry  it  no  further  than  agree- 
able forms  ?  We  may  be  ignorant  how  deep  or 
wide  a  hold  this  spirit  exerts  among  ourselves ; 
but  we  may  rest  assured  that  wherever  there  is 
hollowness  of  religious  principle,  whether  mani- 
fested in  society,  politics,  or  worship,  it  comes 
within  the  scope  of  the  denunciation  which  the 
prophet  pronounces  upon  lies  and  falsehood. 

But,  Christian  friends,  let  us  remember  that  if  we 
hold  the  truth  the  judgment  on  falsehood  will  pass 
us  by.  Too  frequently  we  are  tempted  to  believe 
that  the  fortune  of  the  Christian  is  wrapped  up 
with  the  society  or  nation  to  which  he  belongs. 
When  buoyed  up  by  social  or  economical  forces  it 
is  natural  to  take  alarm  when  these  forces  show 
signs  of  changing  their  direction ;  when  the  foun- 
dations in  which  we  had  previously  trusted  seem 
appointed  to  destruction,  it  is  long  before  we  turn 
to  the  one  foundation  which  can  never  fail.  Yet 
the  Eock  of  Ages  is  as  firm  to-day  as  in  the  days 
of  Isaiah.  The  God  of  Isaiah  is  our  God.  The 
fuller  revelation  of  God  in  Christ  only  sheds  a 
stronger  light  on  the  corner-stone  of  all  ages.  The 
prophets  and  He  who  fulfilled  the  prophets  are  in- 
separably united.      The  former  declared  the  word 

6 


82  Tlie  Triumph  of  Pei^sonal  Faith. 

of  God,  the  latter  was  the  word  of  God.  We  can- 
not reject  the  prophecy  and  accept  Him  who  ful- 
filled it;  Ave  cannot  accept  Christ  and  reject  the 
prophets  who  prefigured  Him.  The  Lord,  our  God, 
is  one  Lord.  His  truth  is  one,  His  word  is  one. 
We  must  either  trust  in  Him  or  trust  in  falsehood. 
It  is  for  us  to  choose  which  is  the  safer  resting- 

o 

place.  The  facts  lie  before  us.  The  responsibility 
of  choice  rests  upon  us.  No  man  can  serve  two 
masters.  The  God  of  all  truth  and  the  father  of  lies 
stand  before  you.  Choose  ye  this  day  whom  ye 
will  serve.  There  is  not  room  for  two  opinions, 
there  is  not  room  for  doubt.  But  remember  that 
to  whom  ye  yield  yourselves  servants,  his  servants 
ye  are,  whether  of  sin  unto  death  or  of  obedience 
unto  righteousness.  Can  there  be  any  hesitation 
as  to  whose  service  you  will  enter  ?  May  we  not 
all  follow  the  example  of  the  leader  of  Israel  who 
in  presenting  the  same  choice  to  a  nation  gave  his 
own  decision  first,  that  whatever  the  popular  voice 
might  be,  as  for  him  and  his  house  they  would 
serve  the  Lord? 


vir. 

THE    LIFE    TO    COME. 


VII. 

THE   LIFE   TO   COME. 

If  any  man  icould  come  after  me,  let  Mm  deny  himself  and 
take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me.  For  whosoever  would  save 
his  life  shall  lose  it :  and  whosoever  shall  lose  his  life  for  my 
sake  shall  find  it.  —Matt.  xvi.  24,  25;   Mark  viii.  34^  35. 

The  text  follows  closely  upon  the  refusal  of  Peter  to 
admit  the  truth  of  Christ's  prediction  regarding 
His  suffering  and  death.  It  is  the  rebuke  with 
w^hich  Christ  meets  Peter's  unwillingness  to  receive 
or  comprehend  the  truth. 

The  words  are  addressed  to  the  multitude  as  well 
as  to  the  disciples.  They  imply  not  only  that 
Christ's  life  should  follow  the  course  which  had 
been  outlined,  but  that  the  disciples  should  be  called 
upon  to  face  a  similar  experience.  They  form  part 
of  that  process  of  disillusion  by  wdiich  Christ  w^as 
opening  the  eyes  of  those  w^ho  heard  Him  to  the 
sterner  realities  of  the  gospel.  In  the  midst  of 
the  brighter  work  of  His  ministry,  —  relieving  suf- 
fering, feeding  the  hungry,  healing  the  afHicted, 
preaching   the   gospel   of    the   kingdom,  —  we   find 


86  The  Life  to  Come. 

Him  constantly  correcting  the  false  impressions 
which  the  blessings  of  His  earthly  ministry  pro- 
duced on  the  popular  mind.  The  external  signs  of 
the  gospel  of  the  kingdom,  the  universal  benefi- 
cence which  attends  its  first  proclamation,  were 
welcomed  and  appreciated;  but  they  were  thought  to 
constitute  the  full  measure  of  Christ's  work.  The 
heavenly  and  spiritual  elements  of  His  teaching 
were  ignored  in  the  midst  of  the  earthly  and 
physical  benefits  which  His  presence  brought  with 
it.  The  typical  character  of  His  works  of  mercy 
and  the  witness  they  bore  to  the  exalted  character 
of  His  personality  were  overlooked,  lost  sight  of. 
Our  Lord  frequently  opposes  this  tendency  among 
His  hearers.  He  emphasizes  the  analogy  between 
the  earthly  and  the  spiritual,  by  which  the  former 
was  to  interpret  the  latter.  When  He  was  followed 
by  the  multitude  whose  hunger  had  been  miraculously 
satisfied,  He  discloses  the  false  basis  on  which  their 
eager  impetuosity  rested.  "  Ye  seek  me,  not  because 
ye  saw  signs,  but  because  ye  ate  of  the  loaves,  and 
were  filled.  Work  not  for  the  meat  that  perisheth, 
but  for  the  meat  which  abideth  unto  eternal  life  " 
(John  vi.  26,27).  The  healing  of  the  body  pointed  to 
the  healing  of  the  soul.  "  And  behold,  they  brought 
to  Him  a  man  sick  of  the  palsy,  lying  on  a  bed :  and 
Jesus,  seeing  their  faith,  said  unto  the  sick  of  the 
palsy,  Son,  be  of  good  cheer ;  thy  sins  are  forgiven  " 
(Matt.  ix.  2). 


The  Life  to  Come.  *     87 

If  the  deeper  meaning  of  the  works  of  Christ  were 
lost  upon  the  multitude,  how  much  more  would  the 
drift  of  His  teaching  he  misunderstood  as  He  strove 
to  make  evident  the  separation  between  the  earthly 
and  the  spiritual,  and  to  disassociate  the  one  from 
the  other.  Peter's  refusal  to  accept  Christ's  proph- 
ecy of  the  suffering  which  awaited  Him,  followed 
closely  upon  the  same  apostle's  recognition  of  Him 
as  the  Messiah. 

The  confidence  and  hope  which  this  confession 
inspired  was  far  removed  from  any  thought  of  a 
Messiah,  mocked,  scourged,  crucified.  The  apostle's 
quick  rejoinder,  "  Be  it  far  from  Thee,  Lord  :  this 
shall  never  be  unto  Thee  "  (Matt.  xvi.  22),  showed 
that  his  previous  confession  did  not  include  such 
dark  anticipations.  They  understood  the  spiritual 
in  a  measure.  Their  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  Messiah 
was  not  outward  but  inward.  "  Flesh  and  blood  hath 
not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven"  (Matt.  xvi.  17).  Nevertheless,  they  were 
slow  to  recognize  the  idea  of  a  Messiahship  unaccom- 
panied by  material  success.  ''  Be  it  far  from  Thee, 
Lord :  this  shall  never  be  unto  Thee."  Tlien  Christ 
turns  on  Peter  with  the  startling  rebuke,  that  as  his 
former  confession  was  prompted  by  the  spirit  of 
God,  his  present  declaration  came  from  the  Father  of 
lies  ;  then  resuming  His  former  discourse  He  further 
unfolds  the  truth,  that  not  only  should  the  earthly 
career  of  the  Messiah  contradict  popular  expectation, 


88      •  The  Life  to  Come. 

but  that  the  time  had  now  come  for  the  disciples  to 
disabuse  their  minds  of  any  material  advantage 
which  they  might  have  anticipated  from  association 
with  Him.  The  path  of  the  disciples  was  to  follow 
that  of  their  Master.  "  If  any  man  would  come 
after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross, 
and  follow  me  "  (Matt.  xvi.  24).  This  left  no  room 
for  confounding  discipleship  with  Christ,  w^ith 
worldly  success.  Since  the  life  of  Christ  was  to  ter- 
minate on  the  cross,  the  severance  was  complete 
between  the  thought  of  an  earthly  and  heavenly 
Messiah,  between  an  earthly  and  heavenly  reign. 
Christ's  crucifixion  was  the  death-blow  to  temporal 
hopes,  because  within  the  temporal  sphere  entire 
failure  had  resulted.  So  far  as  the  cross  was  con- 
cerned, it  was  the  grave  of  personal  hopes  and 
aspirations. 

One  thing  was  now  certain,  —  Christ's  kingdom 
belonged  to  a  spiritual  sphere,  or  else  it  w^as  non- 
existent. His  teaching  must  receive  a  spiritual 
interpretation  or  become  meaningless.  The  ground 
of  misunderstanding  had  been  removed.  But  be- 
yond transforming  the  conceptions  which  had  been 
entertained  of  Himself,  Christ  had  yet  to  transform 
the  conceptions  w^iich  the  disciples  held  of  their  own 
future.  They  were  to  follow  Him.  Beyond  that 
there  was  nothing  left  to  be  revealed.  If  the  cross 
awaited  the  disciple  as  well  as  the  Master,  the  dis- 
ciple must  look  for  a  spiritual  basis  to  his  own  life. 


Tlie  Life  to  Come.  89 

The  only  hope  left  to  him  was  a  spiritual  one  ;  it  was 
that  or  nothing.  That  the  way  to  life  should  lie 
through  the  gates  of  death  was  a  stumbling-hlock  to 
the  Jews  and  folly  to  the  Greeks ;  but  to  those  who 
looked  beyond  the  grave  to  the  spiritual  life  which 
would  rise  on  the  ruins  of  the  earthly,  it  was  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation.  This  is  the  meaning 
of  the  paradox.  "  For  whosoever  would  save  his  life, 
shall  lose  it,  and  whosoever  shall  lose  his  life  for  my 
sake  shall  find  it." 

It  is  the  summit  of  the  line  of  Christian  faith  and 
thought  which  it  touches.  No  further  or  higher 
conception  is  possible  ;  but  while  it  is  the  summit,  it 
is  at  the  same  time  the  basis  of  Christian  life.  It  is 
the  ultimate  distinction  between  Godliness  and 
Worldliness.  It  cuts  directly  across  the  path  of 
every  philosophy  which  exalts  the  seen  above  the 
unseen,  the  temporal  above  the  spiritual.  No  recon- 
ciliation is  possible  between  the  two.  It  draws  a 
complete  line  of  separation  between  the  believer  and 
the  world.  The  Christian  must  stake  his  life,  his 
hope,  his  all  on  a  resurrection.  His  philosophy  of 
this  life  must  be  controlled  and  dominated  by  the 
life  to  come.  "  If  in  this  life  only  we  have  hope  in 
Christ,"  says  the  apostle,  "  we  are  of  all  men  most 
pitiable."  The  Christian  could  not  justify  his  life 
to  himself,  nor  to  the  world,  except  on  the  basis  of 
his  faith  in  the  unseen  and  supernatural. 

Having  observed   then  the   distinction  which  is 


90  The  Life  to  Come. 

drawn  logically  and  of  necessity  between  the  disciple 
and  the  unbeliever,  let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to 
the  attitude  of  the  Christian  toward  the  text,  and 
endeavor  to  gain  a  hopeful  and  inspiring  compre- 
hension of  it. 

"  If  any  man  would  come  after  me,  let  him  deny 
himself,  and  take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me.  For 
whosoever  would  save  his  life  shall  lose  it,  and  who- 
soever shall  lose  his  life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it." 

In  some  conditions  of  society,  in  some  periods  of 
the  world's  history,  these  words  have  received  a 
plain  and  literal  interpretation  ;  but  when  they  were 
first  uttered  they  attracted  as  little  attention  and 
were  as  dimly  comprehended  as  they  would  be  now 
if  thrust  into  the  forefront  of  Christian  preaching, 
and  for  the  same  reason  that  present  outward  con- 
ditions would  not  serve  to  illustrate  the  truth  stated. 
But  this  does  not  alter  the  plain  meaning  of  the 
words,  that  faith  includes  the  conception  of  a  sacri- 
fice which  shall  be  ultimate  and  final  so  far  as  this 
world  is  concerned. 

When  our  Lord  uttered  a  similar  truth  later  in 
His  ministry,  Peter  answered,  "  We  have  left  all  and 
followed  Thee ;  what  then  shall  we  have  "  (Matt.  xix. 
27)  ?  But  what  was  the  path  in  which  they  had 
been  led  up  to  that  time.  They  had  followed  Christ 
in  the  active  work  of  His  ministry  as  He  journeyed 
through  Judea  and  Galilee ;  but  they  did  not  know 
the  abrupt  turnings  in  the  path  by  which  He  led 


Tlie  Life  to  Come.  91 

them,  and  what  following  Him  should  mean  for  them 
in  later  years.  But  though  they  did  not  understand 
the  intimations  of  sacrifice  and  suffering  which  He 
gave  them,  they  eagerly  yielded  to  any  demand 
which  He  seemed  to  lay  upon  them.  When  the 
mother  of  James  and  John  presented  her  petition 
that  her  sons  might  sit,  the  one  upon  the  right  hand 
of  Jesus,  and  the  other  upon  the  left,  He  said  to 
them,  "Are  ye  able  to  drink  the  cup  that  T  am 
about  to  drink  ?  "  They  answered,  "  We  are  able  " 
(Matt.  XX.  22).  At  the  last  supper  all  professed 
their  readiness  to  die  with  Him  (Matt.  xxvi.  35). 
The  disciples  had  faith  in  Christ,  even  when  He 
spoke  above  their  capacity  ;  but  it  required  the  pro- 
gress of  events  to  quicken  their  comprehension  and 
bring  their  faith  in  line  with  His  teaching. 

"  If  any  man  will  come  after  me,  let  him  take  up 
his  cross,  and  follow  me."  The  disciples  were  not  to 
reach  this  standard  through  any  enforced  abnegation 
on  their  part.  It  was  not  to  be  attained  by  any 
effort  of  the  imagination,  nor  by  an  act  of  will.  It 
was  the  simple  declaration  that  the  disciple  was 
not  above  his  Master,  that  in  the  gradual  devel- 
opment of  the  circumstances  of  life  the  disciples 
would  find  that  the  hostility  of  the  world  would 
shape  a  path  for  them  as  it  had  for  the  Lord.  But 
this  time  was  not  to  be  anticipated.  It  was  a  dark, 
withering  experience  when  it  came,  —  unexpected, 
unnatural,  inexplicable.     The  life  lost  would  for  the 


92  The  Life  to   Come. 

moment  make  a  deeper  impression  than  the  life  won. 
But  the  life  lost  was  not  the  end  of  the  path.  The 
cross  had  been  predicted,  but  likewise  the  resurrec- 
tion. The  Son  of  man  should  be  raised  up.  If  the 
crucifixion  gave  serious  meaning  to  the  sacrifice 
required,  "if  any  man  will  come  after  me,  let  him 
take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me,"  the  resurrection 
represented  with  equal  force  the  fulfilment  of  the 
promise,  "  And  whosoever  shall  lose  his  life  shall 
save  it."  If  their  faith  sunk  under  the  discipline  of 
the  cross,  it  rose  again  in  confidence  and  joy  at  the 
resurrection.  The  teaching  concerning  the  life  lost 
and  the  life  won  had  been  taken  out  of  the  sphere 
of  the  figurative  and  the  typical  and  the  symbolical. 
For  them  it  was  henceforth  a  living  reality  which 
they  had  seen  and  witnessed.  But  the  events  which 
revealed  the  meaning  of  Christ  to  the  apostles  are 
part  of  our  faith.  The  same  facts  which  illustrated 
the  text  for  them  illustrate  it  for  us. 

What  then  is  the  lesson  which  we  may  gain  from 
it  in  the  light  shed  upon  it  by  the  cross  and  by  the 
resurrection  ? 

There  is  but  one  lesson,  and  that  taught  so  clearly 
that  none  can  overlook  its  presence  nor  escape  its 
force,  —  the  essential  difference  between  the  sur- 
roundings under  which  the  life  of  faith  is  nurtured 
here  and  in  the  life  to  come ;  the  essential  difference 
between  the  reception  which  awaits  faith  here  and 
hereafter.     Life,  eternal  life  is  not  to  be  thought  of 


The  Life  to  Come.  93 

merely  in  the  light  of  continued  existence.  Eternal 
life  according  to  Christ  and  His  apostles  begins 
here,  in  the  midst  of  earthly  scenes  and  conditions. 
It  reaches  its  consummation  in  the  world  to  come, 
because  transplanted  to  a  higher  and  more  glorious 
sphere.  It  is  precisely  this  life  and  the  changed 
conditions  which  attend  it  of  which  the  text  speaks. 
The  development  of  the  natural  forces  of  this  world 
in  their  opposition  to  truth  and  holiness  compressed 
and  straitened  the  path  of  Christ  until  it  was  nar- 
rowed to  the  space  between  files  of  Koman  soldiery 
and  terminated  on  Calvary. 

The  natural  forces  of  the  heavenly  and  spiritual 
work  in  their  support  of  truth  and  righteousness 
exalt  Him  who  suffered  here  to  the  throne  of  the 
universe.  The  eternal  life  which  the  world  re- 
warded with  the  cross  is  one  with  the  eternal 
life  which  heaven  rewarded  with  its  crown.  The 
life  was  the  same  whether  in  earth  or  heaven.  The 
eternal  life  which  the  believer  possesses  is  the  same 
with  the  life  of  his  Lord  from  whom  he  received  it. 
The  same  experiences  await  its  development  on 
earth,  the  same  change  of  experience  in  passing  from 
earth  to  heaven. 

Let  us  not  under-estimate  the  temptation  which 
comes  from  the  separation  or  contradiction  or  hos- 
tility often  arising  between  the  temporal  and  the 
spiritual.  That  these  two  spheres  are  not  correlated 
on  earth  and  do  not  mutually  support  each  other  is 


94  The  Life  to  Come. 

often  as  great  a  tax  on  faith  now  as  it  was  in  tlie 
time  of  the  apostles. 

It  is  as  much  a  shock  to  faith  now,  when  earthly 
supports  and  the  objects  on  which  earthly  interest 
centres  are  removed,  as  it  was  in  the  time  of  the 
apostles  when  Christ  died.  Faith  is  more  readily 
maintained  when  it  has  visible  support,  and  when 
the  presence  and  power  of  God  is  manifest  to  the 
outward  eye ;  but  when  the  separation  between  these 
begins  to  take  place,  and  the  presence  of  God  has 
witlidrawn  itself  from  the  sphere  of  earthly  aid,  and 
opposition  rather  than  divine  assistance  is  reflected 
in  daily  experience,  doubt  and  fear  is  often  the  result. 
"VVe  follow  the  apostles  to  the  tomb ;  we  overlook 
the  triumphant  issue  which  their  faith  received  in 
the  resurrection. 

But  the  temptation  is  no  greater  now  than  it  was 
then.  The  same  means  which  conquered  it  then  will 
conquer  it  now.  "  Consider  Him,"  said  the  apostle, 
"  that  endured  such  contradiction  of  sinners  against 
Himself,  lest  ye  be  wearied  and  faint  in  your  minds. 
Ye  have  not  yet  resisted  unto  blood  striving  against 
sin."  As  we  contemplate  the  experience  of  our  Lord, 
the  temptation  will  lose  its  strange,  unnatural  char- 
acter, and  will  seem  but  the  natural  accompaniment 
of  the  experience  of  the  disciple  who  recognized 
Christ  as  Lord.  But  not  only  does  the  humiliation 
of  Clirist  add  endurance  to  our  faith,  but  in  His 
exaltation  we  find  a  permanent  and  inexhaustible 


Tlie  Life  to  Come,  95 

source  of  inspiration.  The  outlook  for  the  future, 
which  cheered  our  Lord  during  His  earthly  ministry, 
may  well  be  drawn  upon  to  sustain  us.  The  joy  set 
before  Him,  which  enabled  Him  to  endure  the  cross, 
despising  the  shame,  is  part  of  our  hope.  Unbe- 
lievers may  find  in  many  philosophies  sufficient 
reason  for  maintaining  the  consistency  and  stability 
of  their  lives  ;  but  for  the  Christian  who  rests  upon 
the  facts  and  truths  of  His  faith,  aud  allows  them 
their  full  logical  force  in  the  moulding  and  shaping 
of  his  life,  if  he  would  not  be  false  to  himself  and 
to  the  faith  of  which  he  is  a  witness  before  the 
world,  he  must  acknowledge  that  the  bent  and  pur- 
pose of  his  life  proceeds  from  that  hope,  peculiar  to 
the  Christian,  and  assured  to  us  by  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead,  of  "an  inheritance 
incorruptible  and  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not 
away,  reserved  in  heaven  for  you  who  are  kept  by 
the  power  of  God,  through  faith  unto  salvation  ready 
to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time  "  (1  Pet.  i.  4^  5). 


I^art   ^econD* 


I. 

OPPOSITION    TO    TRUTH. 


I. 

OPPOSITION  TO  TEUTH. 

But  now  ye  seek  to  kill  me,  a  man  that  hath  told 
you  the  truth.  —  John  viii.  -40. 

Whex  these  words  were  spoken,  the  larger  portion 
of  our  Lord's  ministry  had  been  accomplished.  By 
teaching  and  miracle  the  character  of  His  work  was 
fully  established.  He  could  now  appeal  to  His  past 
life  as  a  consistent  logical  whole,  seen  and  read  of 
all  men ;  possessing  a  meaning  which  could  not  be 
misunderstood ;  which  it  was  equally  difficult  to 
evade  or  distort.  Three  years  He  had  spoken* 
among  them  the  words  which  none  other  man  spake  ; 
three  years  He  had  done  among  them  the  works 
which  none  other  man  did.  He  had  taught  in  the 
synagogues  and  the  temple;  in  secret  He  had  said 
nothing.  His  public  career  exhibited  force,  charac- 
ter, definiteness.  His  individual  characteristics  were 
marked ;  He  was  unlike  other  men,  yet  always  like 
Himself.  His  word  and  conduct  possessed  a  unity 
and  coherence  which  compelled  attention  and  ne- 
cessitated acceptance  or  rejection. 


100  Opposition  to  Truth. 

He  was  no  longer  merely  a  Jewish  carpenter,  a 
diligent  workman,  gaining  the  favor  and  respect  of 
His  townsmen.  He  stood  now  apart  from  His  old 
associates.  Broken  friendships,  broken  attachments, 
had  been  His  lot  in  the  past,  were  still  to  be  His  lot 
in  the  future.  Hostility  was  fast  shaping  itself 
against  Him.  Each  miracle,  each  discourse,  intensi- 
fied antagonism.  As  the  light  grew  brighter,  its 
character  more  apparent,  the  efforts  to  quench  it 
grew  stronger.  All  may  not  have  been  aware  of  it ; 
all  may  not  have  known  their  own  hearts.  Only  a 
short  time  before,  the  question  "Why  go  ye  about  to 
kill  me  ? "  had  seemed  unintelligible  to  some.  Either 
in  their  ignorance  of  Christ  or  in  their  ignorance  of 
the  current  of  feeling  which  prevailed  among  the 
authorities  of  Jerusalem,  they  felt  that  these  words 
covered  a  suggestion  too  startling  to  be  rational. 
**Thou  hast  a  devil  who  goeth  about  to  kill  thee," 
was  the  quick  response.  Now  Christ  no  longer 
states  the  truth  under  the  guise  of  a  question,  but 
makes  a  plain  statement  of  the  fact ;  and  then  in 
direct  unequivocal  language  lays  bare  the  principles 
which  were  hidden  behind  this  fact,  which  necessi- 
tated it,  which  gave  meaning  to  it,  which  made  it  an 
event  of  terrible  interest  to  those  concerned  in  it. 
"Ye  seek  to  kill  me,  a  man  that  hath  told  you 
the  truth  which  I  have  heard  of  God."  Christ  had 
thoroughly  identified  His  words  and  works  as  pro- 
ceeding  from   God.     Many   had   felt    instinctively 


Opposition  to  Truth.  101 

the  logic  of  the  events  which  had  attended  His 
career.  A  natural  and  ready  response  attested  the 
conviction  of  the  heart,  "AYhen  Christ  cometh 
will  He  do  more  miracles  than  these  which  this  man 
hath  done."  "  Xever  man  spake  like  this  man."  The 
evidence  seemed  undeniable  that  Christ  was  in  accord 
with  the  purposes  of  God  and  fulfilling  His  will.  He 
could  now  declare  plainly  what  many  had  already  be- 
lieved, that  He  had  spoken  what  He  had  heard  of  God. 
His  person  and  work  could  no  longer  be  separated. 

They  could  not  antagonize  Him,  and  accept  the 
truth  He  uttered.  If  they  hated  Him,  they  hated 
Him  for  what  He  was  ;  for  what  He  had  done  ;  for 
what  He  represented.  In  seeking  to  kill  Him,  they 
sought  to  extinguish  the  doctrine  which  He  had 
taught,  "  Ye  seek  to  kill  me,  a  man  that  hath  told  you 
the  truth."  They  were  furnishing  an  exhibition  of 
the  undying  enmity  which  exists  between  truth 
and  falsehood,  between  rights  and  pretensions,  be- 
tween the  will  of  God  and  the  falsifiers  of  that  will. 
The  time  had  come  for  the  direct  statement  of  the 
issue  involved  between  Christ  and  His  countrymen. 
Christ  had  previously  shown  the  hollowness  of  the 
charges  against  Him ;  He  now  discloses  the  spirit  of 
those  who  had  preferr'^d  them.  It  was  not  the 
form  which  hostility  took,  but  the  attitude  of  mind 
in  which  it  was  rooted,  that  Christ  wished  to  bring 
before  them.  He  denies  their  claim  of  fatherhood  in 
Abraham  or  God.     Their  parental  resemblance  be- 


102  Opposition  to  Truth. 

trays  their  fatherhood.  They  are  of  their  father, 
the  devil.  He  was  a  murderer  from  the  beginning. 
They  are  fast  following  in  his  footsteps.  He  abode 
not  in  the  truth  because  there  was  no  truth  in  him. 
They,  too,  were  lost  to  the  recognition  of  truth.  Lies 
would  have  been  in  harmony  with  their  nature  and 
convictions.  To  false  Messiahs  they  would  have  given 
a  hearty  and  sympathetic  response  ;  but  the  true  Mes- 
siah was  outside  the  range  of  their  susceptibilities. 
The  brief  comment,  "  He  hath  a  devil,"  shows  the 
obtuseness  of  their  moral  sense.  They  might  fight 
the  truth,  crucify  the  truth,  yet  never  would  they 
know  what  it  was  they  fought;  whom  it  was  they 
crucified.  "  Father,  forgive  them  ;  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do."  They  knew  not  because  they 
believed  not ;  they  believed  not  because  the  narrow 
range  of  their  perverted  faith  shut  them  out  from 
all  possible  sympathy  with  the  truth  and  love  of 
God,  or  love  for  man.  They  could  give  no  reason 
for  taking  the  life  of  Christ,  but  the  hostility  be- 
gotten of  cross  purposes.  He  was  an  obstacle  in 
their  path  ;  He  dwarfed  their  teaching,  scorned  their 
self-sufficiency,  darkened  their  political  outlook.  For 
this  they  had  determined  to  silence  Him ;  for  this 
they  would  try,  convict,  and  crucify  Him.  The 
accused  already  knew  the  reason  which  aroused 
their  hatred.  As  we  have  seen,  He  charged  it  home 
on  them  unflinchingly.  The  thoughts  of  their 
hearts  had  been  laid  bare  as  though  they  stood  before 


Op;position  to  Truth.  103 

the  judgment  seat  of  Him  whom  they  were  now  con- 
demning. Yet  another  man  was  to  penetrate  the 
veil  which  hunej  between  the  motive  and  the  deed. 
It  is  recorded  that  Pilate,  the  Eoman  governor, 
knew  that  it  was  for  envy  that  they  had  delivered 
him.  Strange  anomaly.  Judge  and  prisoner  are 
in  agreement.  Both  bear  testimony  against  the  ac- 
cusers. Wrong  against  right,  falsehood  against 
truth,  was  the  real  principle  involved.  Christ  saw  it. 
Pilate  saw  it.  Many  standing  before  that  judgment 
seat  were  yet  to  see  it. 

My  Christian  friends,  when  Christ  is  on  trial 
to-day,  as  He  is  here  and  everywhere,  do  we  rec- 
ognize the  principles  which  control  opposition  to 
Him  ?  "  Why  go  ye  about  to  kill  me,  a  man  that 
hath  told  you  the  truth  ? "  is  a  question  as  pertinent 
to  this  age  and  land  as  to  the  first  century  in  Judea. 
Is  the  envy,  mockery,  and  scorn  of  truth  of  the 
present  different  from  that  of  early  times  ?  Is  in- 
fluence and  authority  and  custom  less  often  availed 
of  to  crush  a  riojhteous  cause  in  order  to  advance 
personal  interests  ?  Do  we  hear  fewer  sneers  and 
flings  at  a  faith  which  men  do  not  understand,  and 
whose  merits  they  fail  to  appreciate  ?  Would  the 
personal  reception  of  Christ  in  our  great  cities 
differ  from  that  which  He  received  at  Jerusalem  ? 
If  it  were  known  that  His  cominsf  sounded  the 
doom  of  personal  aggrandizement,  whether  in 
wealth,  religion,  or  politics ;  would  stamp  upon  all 


104  Opposition  to  Truth, 

machinations,  trickery,  and  fraud ;  would  rule  with 
a  rod  of  iron  those  who  refused  allegiance,  —  would 
any  principles  of  justice  or  sense  of  guilt  hinder 
tremendous  and  organized  opposition.  The  world 
may  have  little  anxiety  concerning  truth  in  the 
abstract,  little  thought  for  those  who  preach  it,  or 
those  who  practise  it.  But  when  truth  becomes 
a  power  whicli  can  be  seen  and  felt,  the  situation 
is  changed.  The  moral  power  of  the  truth,  purity, 
peace,  and  love  may  be  ignored ;  but  truth  in  a 
changed  aspect,  with  followers  at  its  back,  with 
powers  of  detection,  arrest,  conviction,  judgment, 
cannot  be  ifjnored  nor  misunderstood.  This  answers 
the  question  of  Christ,  "  Why  go  ye  about  to  kill 
me?"  Not  because  of  anything  which  had  to  do 
with  truth,  but  simply  because  He  stood  in  their 
road,  where  there  was  room  for  only  one  to  pass. 
It  was  the  old  question,  God  or  Mammon.  They 
had  chosen  Mammon,  and  now  found  that  the 
power  of  God  was  in  the  opposition.  For  the 
truth  of  God  they  cared  nothing:  the  power  they 
would  meet  with  power. 

Is  it  not  plain  that  the  situation  is  similar 
among  ourselves  ?  It  is  the  truth  as  an  opposing, 
interfering  power  that  the  world  resists.  The 
truth,  as  faith,  love,  hope,  they  know  nothing  of, 
and  care  less.  At  times  they  honor  it  with  a 
condescending  patronage.  It  increases  the  faith- 
fulness   of   employees,    insures    the    usefulness   of 


Opposition  to  Truth.  105 

servants,  lessens  the  competition  in  the  race  for 
earthly  prizes,  occasionally  brings  a  little  variety 
into  lives  which  count  only  politic  motives,  and 
regard  principles  in  the  light  of  amusing,  though 
perplexing,  entertainment.  But  some  day  the  truth 
stands  out  in  new  relations  ;  some  one  discovers 
that  truth  has  a  bearing  on  error ;  is  not  altogether 
passive,  as  was  supposed ;  becomes  conscious  of  a 
power  of  light  as  well  as  a  power  of  darkness ; 
discovers  there  are  other  wills  in  the  universe 
besides  his  own ;  discerns  a  coming  storm ;  spreads 
the  alarm.  A  little  while,  and  the  powers  of  good 
and  evil  are  in  collision.  Now  press  the  question, 
"Why  go  ye  about  to  kill  me,  a  man  that  hath  told 
you  the  truth  ? "  And,  first,  we  may  hear  the  indif- 
erent  question,  "  "What  is  truth  ? "  But  following  it 
we  shall  hear  the  defiant  cry  of  more  determined 
spirits,  "  We  will  not  have  this  man  to  rule  over  us." 
At  times  we  hear  it  said  that  Christians  are 
responsible  for  existing  opposition  to  truth ;  that 
if  Christians  fully  exemplified  their  faith,  the 
world  would  respond,  Christianity  would  become 
self-evidencing,  the  kingdom  of  Christ  would  be 
established.  Can  such  a  position  be  justified  by 
history,  doctrine,  or  prophecy  ?  Could  we  not  say 
with  greater  truth,  and  maintain  it  by  more  con- 
vincing arguments,  that  the  closer  the  Church 
draws  to  Christ,  the  more  unworldly  it  becomes ; 
the  more  speedily  it  draws  upon  itself  the  persecu- 


106  Opposition  to  Truth. 

tion  of  the  world.  "  The  servant  is  not  greater 
than  his  Lord.  If  they  have  persecuted  me,  they 
will  also  persecute  you."  "  If  the  world  hate  you, 
ye  know  that  it  hated  me  before  it  hated  you." 
A  share  in  Christ's  character  necessitates  a  share 
in  Christ's  treatment.  The  more  recognizable  the 
Christian,  the  surer  is  the  mark  he  makes  for  his 
foes.  True,  the  Christian  faith  may  for  long  periods 
grow  in  obscurity ;  the  universal  bearing  of  its 
claims  and  tendencies  may  escape  detection ;  it 
may  grow  in  favor  with  man  as  well  as  God,  until 
it  begins  to  cramp  and  fetter  the  worldly  forces,  the 
spiritual  tyrannies  among  which  it  has  taken  root. 
When  it  makes  the  law  of  God  the  law  of  the  land  ; 
when  it  interferes  with  nefarious  trades,  applies 
the  truth  equally  to  all,  —  high  and  low,  rich  and 
poor,  employer  and  employee,  —  taxes  them  individu- 
ally with  sin,  commands  them  to  repent  and  hum- 
ble themselves  before  God ;  when  it  undertakes 
to  make  clear  to  the  world  that  truth  is  the  most 
aggressive  power  in  the  universe,  not  only  because 
of  its  moral  virtues,  but  because  it  is  backed  by 
the  controlling,  dominant,  masterful  power  of  an 
omnipotent  God,  who  will  not  suffer  His  will  to  be 
disputed,  who  will  not  give  His  glory  to  another,  — 
then  we  may  hear  the  low  murmuring  of  the  ap- 
proaching storm.  The  Church  has  borne  its  witness 
against  the  world ;  and  tlie  world  refuses  to  yield 
its  inheritances,  its  glories,  its  pride  and  wealth 
without  a  struggle. 


Opposition  to  Truth.  107 

When  we  are  tempted  to  exaggerate  the  influence 
of  truth  and  deify  the  power  of  moral  excellencies 
to  win  the  world  to  recognize  and  practise  them,  it 
can  never  be  sufficiently  emphasized  that  the  incom- 
parable example  of  moral  excellence  furnished  to 
man  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord  did  not  accomplish 
such  a  result.  Christ  did  not  assume  nor  anticipate 
a  general  acceptance  of  the  truth  as  the  result  of 
His  life,  nor  did  He  encourage  His  disciples  to  look 
for  a  recocjnition  which  He  had  failed  to  gain.  On 
the  contrary.  He  assures  them  that  on  account  of 
their  discipleship  they  must  share  the  experience 
of  the  Master  whose  disciples  they  were.  In  the 
history  immediately  subsequent  to  the  death  of 
Christ  we  may  readily  trace  the  realization  of  the 
truth  contained  in  the  words,  "  The  servant  is  not 
greater  than  his  Lord."  The  same  experience  awaited 
the  early  Christians  as  attended  Christ ;  first,  favor 
with  all  the  people,  —  then  persecution.  But  while 
many  may  feel  that  the  teaching  of  Christ  does  not 
promise  them  exemption  from  persecution,  and  may 
recognize  that  the  Word  of  God  furnishes  them  no 
ground  for  surprise  at  the  hours  of  trial  which 
come  upon  the  world,  but  rather  forewarns  them, 
nevertheless,  from  their  judgment  of  the  present 
chapter  of  the  world's  history,  they  would  readily 
pronounce  the  text  which  has  been  chosen  as  inap- 
plicable to  the  time.  They  would  maintain  that 
to  speak  of   persecution  in   the  present  day  is  to 


108  Opposition  to  Truth. 

give  words  a  rendering  wliich  they  will  not  bear, 
and  that  to  discuss  principles  now  inoperative  is 
useless  and  unprofitable.  It  may  be  replied  that 
so  far  as  persecution  is  referred  to  State  organiza- 
tions, whether  priestly  or  secular,  it  is  no  longer 
active.  But  the  relation  of  Church  and  State  is 
not  under  discussion.  An  entirely  different  line  is 
drawn,  —  that  of  the  Church  and  the  world  ;  of  right- 
eousness and  unrighteousness.  He  that  doeth 
righteousness  is  born  of  God ;  he  that  doeth  not 
righteousness  is  not  of  God.  These  are  the  prin- 
ciples involved.  It  is  not  a  question  of  opinion, 
a  matter  of  words ;  it  is  a  question  between  right- 
eousness active  and  unrighteousness  active.  It  is 
a  mistake  to  consider  Christians  as  a  school,  holding 
certain  opinions,  and  the  world  a  school,  holding 
opposite  opinions.  The  line  run  between  believers 
and  the  unbelieving  is  not  run  according  to  theo- 
logical tenets,  but  according  to  godliness  or  un- 
godliness. On  the  one  side  are  ranged  idolatry, 
blasphemy,  murder,  theft,  covetousness ;  on  the 
other,  reverence  and  love  of  God,  regard  for  life, 
integrity,  purity,  and  truth.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
separate  the  head  from  the  heart,  practice  from 
doctrine,  words  from  works.  "  Shew  me  thy  faith 
without  thy  works,"  says  Saint  James, "  and  I  will 
shew  thee  my  faith  by  my  works."  The  Church 
and  the  world  are  not  to  be  recognized  according 
to  their  formulas  of  belief  but  by  their  lives.    "  Thou 


Opposition  to  Truth.  109 

believest  that  there  is  one  God.  Thou  doest  well," 
but  that  does  not  prevent  classification  with 
devils.  "They  also  believe  and  tremble."  Divid- 
ing the  world,  then,  on  these  lines,  according  to  its 
deeds  rather  than  its  thoughts,  will  any  one  main- 
tain that  the  conflict  is  less  sharp,  less  bitter  now 
than  centuries  ago  ?  We  are  inclined  to  magnify 
the  evil  of  the  past  as  well  as  its  good.  There  is  a 
deep-seated  dislike  against  reading  history  for  in- 
struction. As  a  matter  of  idle  gossip  and  inquisi- 
tive disrespectful  curiosity,  we  examine  the  dress 
and  costumes  of  the  past,  much  as  uncivilized 
tribes  scrutinize  the  appearance  and  dress  of 
foreigners.  Bv  distortion  and  exaggeration  we  lift 
it  so  far  above  human  experience,  or  sink  it  so  far 
below  it,  that  the  vital  connection  between  the  past 
and  present  is  broken,  and  we  look  upon  the  figures 
of  history  as  visitors  from  another  sphere,  whose 
every  detail  we  study  with  close  and  minute  atten- 
tion, and  yet  with  no  further  benefit  or  profit  than 
to  enlarge  the  list  of  human  curiosities. 

The  resurrection  of  Christ  was  a  unique  event  in 
the  world's  history ;  His  crucifixion  was  not.  It 
was  not  even  a  strange  or  surprising  event.  From 
the  blood  of  Abel  to  that  of  Zacharias,  Jewish  his- 
tory furnished  many  examples  of  outrage  against 
man  and  God.  The  spirit  which  actuated  them  all 
was  the  same  spirit  which  prompted  Cain  to  slay 
his  brother.     "  And  wherefore  slew  he  him  ?     Be- 


110  Opposition  to  Truth. 

cause  his  own  works  were  evil  and  his  brother's 
righteous." 

The  temptation  is  strong  to  draw  untenable  dis- 
tinctions in  acts  of  wrong-doing  or  injustice  because 
of  difference  in  times  or  surroundings.  The  cruci- 
fixion of  Christ  is  not  to  be  separated  from  the  evil 
which  reigned  before  and  has  reigned  since ;  it 
loses  its  significance,  if  we  consider  it  only  as  the 
capstone  of  the  mass  of  human  iniquity.  The 
actors  in  it  were  men  of  like  passions  with  our- 
selves. Their  lineal  descendants  are  among  us, 
and  equally  with  their  ancestors  possess  the 
demoniac  spirit.  It  is  not  the  unexampled  deprav- 
ity of  the  personal  actors  in  the  crucifixion  which 
that  event  is  intended  to  teach  us,  but  rather  the 
depravity  working  through  all  time,  of  which  the 
crucifixion  is  the  most  conspicuous  illustration. 
The  light  of  the  cross  streams  backward  and  for- 
ward upon  the  unending  line  of  human  sin  and 
wickedness,  revealing  to  mankind  the  spirit  and 
outcome  of  all  ungodliness. 

"  Why  go  ye  about  to  kill  me  ? "  Shall  we  deny  the 
principle  which  this  question  reveals,  —  the  deadly 
antagonism  between  the  spirit  of  the  world  and  the 
spirit  of  Christ,  —  because  events  require  time  for 
development,  and  because  we  do  not  see  the  result 
of  principles  until  the  time  is  ripe  for  their  issue  ? 
Is  it  peace  when  two  armed  powers  are  biding  their 
time,  or  shall  we  deny  this  principle  because  our 


Opposition  to  Truth.  Ill 

perceptions  have  become  so  blunted  that  we  can 
hardly  discriminate  between  light  and  darkness, 
between  Christ  and  satan  ?  If  our  eyes  fail  in 
discernment,  can  we  tell  actual  conflict  from  a 
mock  battle  until  we  ourselves  fall ;  or  shall  we 
deny  this  principle  because  through  lack  of  resist- 
ance there  has  been  no  fighting  ?  Because  we  have 
given  up  the  field,  assented  to  the  worship  of  the 
evil  one  and  formed  a  compact  of  goodfellowship 
with  his  followers,  shall  we  therefore  say  that 
there  is  concord  between  Christ  and  Belial  ? 

Men  do  not  seek  to  further  their  material  interests 
by  deceiving  themselves  regarding  the  different  in- 
fluences which  affect  them,  nor  do  they  trust  to 
the  inductions  of  a  brief  half-hour  as  furnishing 
principles  for  the  business  of  a  lifetime.  Mis- 
representation of  the  situation  effects  nothing, 
either  in  material  or  spiritual  things.  Ungrounded 
hopes  do  not  realize  themselves  in  either  sphere. 
Neither  affords  encouragement  to  stupidity  or 
shortsightedness.  < 

"  Why  go  ye  about  to  kill  me  ?  "  The  friends  of 
Christ  seem  to  have  been  the  last  to  admit  the  pos- 
sibility of  His  seizure  and  death.  Even  Christ  Him- 
self could  not  persuade  them  of  it.  The  friends 
of  Christ  to-day  are  under  the  same  temptation  to 
ignore  the  great  lessons  of  Christ's  death  ;  to  ignore 
the  death  of  martyrs ;  to  ignore  the  sacrifice  at 
which  every  advance  in  truth  is  purchased.     The 


112  Opposition  to  Truth. 

hope  excites  the  wish,  the  wish  the  expectation, 
that  the  conflict  between  good  and  evil  is  one  in 
which  we  may  now  engage  with  assurance  of  pro- 
tection to  life,  reputation,  and  possessions  ;  that  it 
is  simply  ridiculous  to  suppose  the  possibility  of 
risk  or  loss  in  ranging  ourselves  on  the  side  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  that  the  signs  of  the  times  are  pro- 
pitious to  the  easy  practice  and  certain  reward 
of  faith.  Eighteousness  is  no  longer  militant  but 
triumphant. 

"  Thou  hast  a  devil,  who  goeth  about  to  kill 
thee,"  springs  as  quickly  from  the  lips  of  the 
unthinking  multitude  as  it  did  in  the  time  of  Christ. 
In  four  months  the  prophecy  was  accomplished. 
The  just  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  unjust. 
Interference  with  the  politics,  morals,  and  religion 
of  the  day  had  at  last  provoked  extreme  measures. 
It  had  become  necessary  that  either  the  nation, 
as  it  was  then  constituted,  should  perish,  or  that 
the  one  man  should  die  who  embodied  in  himself 
the  principles  which  threatened  social  order.  The 
consummation  of  Jewish  hostility  to  Christ  was 
reached  on  a  question  of  practical  politics.  "  If  we 
let  this  man  alone  the  Romans  will  come  and  take 
away  both  our  place  and  nation."  So,  to-day,  it  is 
not  Christianity  as  a  theory,  but  in  its  concrete  ap- 
plications, which  meets  resistance,  —  wliich  endan- 
gers every  form  of  evil,  and  is  in  its  turn  endangered 
by  evil.     It  is  not  the  existence  of  God,  of  truth,  of 


Opposition  to  Truth.  113 

righteousness,  which  alarms  iniquity.  It  is  only 
when  iniquity  discovers  that  the  truths  which  it 
previously  considered  pious  opinions  are  becoming 
real  and  active  forces,  that  it  awakens  to  danger 
and  finds  itself  engaged  in  a  life  and  death  strug- 
gle. It  is  well  for  Christians  if  they  understand 
the  conflict  as  well  as  their  opponents.  It  is  w^ell 
for  the  children  of  God  if  they  grasp  the  situa- 
tion as  quickly  as  the  children  of  the  devil.  Can 
the  leopard  change  his  spots  ?  Wherever  greed  or 
oppression  can  raise  its  head,  it  does ;  wherever 
scepticism  can  drive  out  faith,  it  does ;  wherever 
the  devil  can  most  effectually  resist  God,  he  does  ; 
whatever  instruments  are  most  ready  to  his  hand, 
he  uses.  The  divorce  of  morals  from  religion,  of 
conduct  from  principle,  was  his  method  in  the  time 
of  Christ.  This  divorce  once  accomplished,  it  w^as 
easy  to  find  material  to  smother  all  attempts  to  re- 
unite them.  How  far  does  this  method  avail  now  ? 
How  far  has  it  been  successful  ?  What  departments 
of  human  life  and  activity  have  been  separated  from 
the  operation  of  Christian  principle  ?  Commerce  is 
the  foremost  to  claim  for  itself  the  abnegation  of 
principle.  Covetousness,  which  finds  in  its  own  de- 
sire a  sufficient  justification  for  disregarding  all  laws, 
human  and  divine,  holds  a  firm  grip  on  the  traffic 
between  man  and  man.  Commerce,  w^hich  has 
always  held  its  own  in  the  demoralization  of  every 
weaker  nation  or  individual  with  whom  it  has  to  do, 


114  Opposition  to  Truth. 

finds  no  place  in  its  ethics  for  Christian  principle. 
Attempt  opposition  to  its  methods,  to  its  practice  of 
profiting,  through  the  weakness,  ignorance,  or  credu- 
lity of  man,  and  you  find  speedily  with  whom  you 
have  to  do.  The  attempt  to  mitigate  any  evil  which 
is  profitable  is  a  sure  way  to  find  how  many  are 
interested  in  it.  Attempt  to  block  any  form  of  vice 
in  which  the  evil  propensities  of  our  nature  are 
pandered  to,  and  the  difficulty  of  making  headway 
against  the  vested  rights  of  the  kingdom  of  satan 
will  show  in  what  security  those  rights  are  held. 
Again,  the  field  of  politics  is  one  from  which  prin- 
ciple is  excluded,  made  a  jest  of,  ridiculed,  cast  out. 
Vice  hardly  pays  the  compliment  of  secrecy  to 
virtue.  Venality  and  corruption  become  the  open 
boast  of  those  who  have  practised  them  and  profited 
by  their  practice.  Such  may  well  look  upon  the 
authoritative  teaching  of  Christ  as  antagonistic  to 
their  existence,  —  as  a  power  which  threatens  to 
deprive  them  of  place  and  influence.  But  besides 
the  subversion  of  the  two  relations  of  man  with 
man,  trade  and  government,  there  are  other  relations 
of  life  in  which  it  is  sought  to  exclude  the  rule  of 
Christ.  It  is  sought  to  cast  off  the  obligation  of 
social  relations,  —  of  husband  and  wife,  of  father  and 
son,  of  neighbor  and  neighbor.  Again  the  cry  is 
heard,  "  We  will  not  have  this  man  to  rule  over  us." 
Eelations  established  and  enforced  in  the  divine 
economy  are  ignored  and  defied.     Instead  of  recog- 


Opposition  to  Truth.  115 

nizing  the  divine  origin  of  these  relations,  that  God 
hath  created  us,  and  not  we  ourselves,  it  is  affirmed 
that  relations  and  laws  are  of  our  own  creation  ;  that 
none  are  binding  on  us  except  those  which  we  have 
ourselves  created  ;  that  all  else  is  tyranny.  "  We  will 
not  have  this  man  to  rule  over  us."  Neither  trade 
nor  government  nor  domestic  life  can  suffer  the 
intolerable  yoke  which  He  would  seek  to  thrust 
upon  us.     "  Crucify  Him  !     Crucify  Him  ! " 

My  Christian  hearers,  among  those  whom  Christ 
addressed  there  were  friends  and  enemies.  Both 
may  receive  a  lesson  from  his  words,  —  a  lesson  from 
the  events  which  followed  fast  upon  his  words. 
Hatred  of  truth,  of  Christ,  of  God  was  successful  in 
the  murderous  plot  by  which  it  sought  to  perpetuate 
itself  and  escape  divine  obligations.  The  Lord  of 
the  vineyard  had  come  to  claim  His  own,  and  they 
cast  Him  out.  Haters  of  truth  abound  to-day ;  but 
let  them  remember  that  in  their  hate  they  seal  their 
doom.  A  generation  had  not  passed  away  after  the 
crucifixion  of  Christ,  and  Jerusalem,  the  seat  of 
bitterest  enmity  against  Him  had  ceased  from  being 
a  city.  We  may  accept  the  national  application. 
Even  a  republic  is  not  exempt  from  the  operation  of 
divine  vengeance,  when  it  has  once  secured  for  itself 
exemption  from  obedience  to  divine  law.  But  we 
should  remember  that  whatever  may  be  the  fate  of 
nations,  the  most  important  application  to  ourselves 
is  personal ;    our   life  is    individual,  not    national. 


116  Opposition  to  Truth. 

Within  one  generation  at  the  longest  every  blas- 
phemer against  God  must  appear  before  God  to 
answer  for  his  personal  opposition  to  the  Creator 
and  ruler  of  the  universe.  If  there  are  any  such 
here  to-day,  let  them  consider  the  past  long-suffering 
of  God  which  leadeth  them  to  repentance ;  let  them 
remember  that  it  was  for  them  Christ  prayed, 
"  Father,  forgive  them ;  for  they  know  not  what 
they  do." 

There  is  still  time  for  the  repentant  prayer,  "  God 
have  mercy  upon  me  a  sinner."  But,  my  friends, 
there  is  a  sense  in  which  these  words  are  applicable 
to  us  all,  —  applicable  to  the  strife  which  is  waged 
in  every  human  heart.  What  opposition  do  w^e 
make  to  the  truth  ?  What  if  the  Lord  of  the 
universe  should  flash  forth  the  Word  of  His  truth 
upon  the  shortcomings  of  our  lives ;  would  ask  our 
reasons  for  disregarding  His  Word,  for  obstructing  His 
rule,  for  crushing  out  the  life  with  which  He  would 
quicken  the  world,  —  would  we  bow  to  the  truth,  or 
hurry  it  to  the  judgment  hall  ? 

It  is  only  through  the  steadfast  recognition  of 
the  authority  of  God.  of  His  will  revealed  through 
Christ,  that  we  shall  be  secured  from  partaking  of 
the  worldly  hatred  against  Him. 


n. 

SALVATION    FOR    SINNERS. 


II. 

SALVATION  FOR  SINNERS. 

Faithful  is  the  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  accepta- 
tion,  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  ivorld  to  savB 
sinners  ;  of  whom  I  am  chief.  —  1  Timothy  i.  15. 

The  life  of  Paul  before  and  after  conversion  is  to 
be  sharply  distinguished.  In  the  one  period  he  was 
the  chief  of  sinners,  in  the  other,  chief  among 
saints.  Let  us  consider  this  change  of  nature,  its 
historical  foundation,  and  the  change  in  life  and 
experience  to  which  it  gave  rise. 

Paul  pronounces  himself  the  chief  of  sinners. 
Why  ?  We  shall  be  able  to  answer  this  question,  if 
we  notice  the  substance  of  the  confession.  It  was 
merely  the  history  of  his  career  before  conversion. 
Ask  those  whom  Paul  had  driven  from  their  homes, 
dragged  before  magistrates,  imprisoned,  beaten, 
stoned,  —  ask  these  witnesses  whether  it  was  the 
witness  of  an  inflamed  consciousness  of  an  over- 
sensitive nature  which  led  Paul  to  pronounce 
himself  chief  of  sinners.  Hard,  merciless,  pitiless, 
he  compelled  them  to  blaspheme.     No  sign  of  sym- 


120  Salvation  for  Sinners, 

pathy  or  compassion  from  that  flinty  lieart.  Later 
on,  Peter  might  say  our  beloved  Brother  Paul ;  but 
what  Christian  in  all  Judea  thought  of  calling  him 
loved  or  loving  then  ?  Saul  dragooning  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  breathing  out  persecution,  filled  with 
madness,  relentless,  the  embodiment  of  hate,  is  a 
historical  figure  we  seldom  consider. 

We  speak  of  Paul's  conversion :  we  seldom  speak 
of  his  life  before  conversion,  and  yet  it  is  that  life 
to  which  he  refers,  when  he  pronounces  himself 
chief  of  sinners,  as  not  meet  to  be  an  apostle, 
because  he  persecuted  the  Church  of  God  and 
wasted  it.  Was  his  verdict  just  ?  Would  his  fel- 
lowmen  concur  in  the  estimate  he  gives  of  himself  ? 
Let  us  not  confound  sin  as  a  possibility  with  sin  as 
committed.  It  is  not  the  sinfulness  which  Paul 
finds  lurking  in  his  nature  which  he  accuses  himself 
of,  but  the  sins  which  had  gone  forth  as  part  of  his- 
tory. On  trial  before  Festus,  Paul  had  protested 
that  against  the  Jews  he  had  done  no  wrong ;  but 
what  of  Christians  ?  —  he  could  assert  no  such  harm- 
lessness  with  regard  to  them.  He  had  taken  the 
lead  in  cruel,  determined  persecution ;  not  content 
with  dispersing  the  Church  in  Jerusalem,  he  had 
pursued  its  adherents  to  foreign  cities,  resolute  in 
his  purpose  to  bring  them  bound  unto  Jerusalem. 

Our  thoughts  are  seldom  directed  to  Paul  as  a 
persecutor.  We  forget  to  look  at  him  in  this  aspect ; 
yet  we  are  called  upon   to  do  so  to  understand  him 


Salvation  for  Sinners.  121 

aright.  And  what  is  the  judgment  which  we  must 
pronounce  upon  Paul  as  a  sinner,  upon  a  man  whose 
fanaticism  and  bigotry  had  crushed  out  all  the 
humaner  impulses,  who  anticipated  the  time  when 
violence  and  murder  should  be  pressed  into  the  ser- 
vice of  God  ?  "  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world  to 
save  sinners,  of  whom  I  am  chief,"  was  not  an  expres- 
sion of  extreme  humility,  but  of  truth ;  and  it  was  the 
foundation  of  Paul's  Christian  experience.  "  By  the 
grace  of  God,  I  am  what  I  am."  Paul  by  himself  — 
ignorant,  arrogant,  stern,  fanatical,  all  the  good  that 
was  in  him  turned  to  evil  by  false  conceptions  of 
God  and  duty  —  was  "  chief  of  sinners."  But  on 
that  eventful  journey  to  Damascus  came  the  change 
which  was  to  render  Paul  chief  among  Christians. 
The  pre-eminence  he  so  long  held  among  sinners 
was  abandoned  forever.  He  was  now  to  maintain 
the  faith  which  once  he  destroyed.  The  proof  of 
Christianity  to  the  Christian  is  his  experience. 
Conversion  merely  means  that  a  man's  heart  is  open 
to  a  phase  of  experience  to  which  before  he  was  a 
stranger.  It  may  be  conscious  or  unconscious  ;  a 
man's  recollections  do  not  always  carry  him  back  to 
spiritual  birth,  and,  if  they  do,  he  cannot  always 
give  a  satisfactory  account  of  the  occurrence, 
excepting  that  he  knew  nothing  once,  saw  nothing, 
but  now  he  both  sees  and  knows.  The  reasonable- 
ness of  Christianity  is  one  thing,  Christianity  as  life- 
giving  truth,  another.     You  may  prove   to  a  blind 


122  Salvation  for  Siimers. 

man  that  there  is  a  world  of  sense  to  which  he  is 
a  stranger,  but  you  cannot  bring  him  in  sympathy 
with  it.  You  may  prove  to  many  a  man  the  truth 
of  Christianity,  but  to  bring  him  into  vital  connec- 
tion with  it  is  beyond  your  power.  No  man  can 
recofTuize  the  truth  if  there  is  no  truth  in  him :  he 
will  simply  measure  it  by  the  falsehood  to  which  he 
is  accustomed.  No  man  will  accept  Christ,  unless 
Christ  be  in  the  man,  turning  him  to  Himself. 
Christ  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners, 

Paul  was  hunting  down  Christ,  driving  him  to 
earth,  when  a  new  vision,  a  new  understanding,  a 
new  revelation  of  Jesus  the  despised  Nazarene  was 
made  to  liim,  which  he  had  never  before  seen  or  ex- 
perienced. Christ  had  been  there  from  the  first,  only 
Paul  had  not  seen  Him.  Not  the  righteous,  sinners 
Jesus  came  to  save.  What  gives  the  charm,  the 
value,  the  inspiration,  to  stories  of  danger,  of  adven- 
ture, but  the  straitened  circumstances  of  the  adven- 
turers, into  which  the  hope  of  rescue  and  deliverance 
had  come?  And  the  reader  or  listener  responds  with 
quick  sympathy  as  the  escape  from  cold  or  famine 
or  battle  is  recited.  Whether  it  is  the  forlorn  hope 
of  the  starved  and  frozen  explorer,  or  the  extremity 
of  ?n  army,  all  are  conscious  of  the  suppressed  emo- 
tion which  attends  the  recital  of  the  story,  —  the 
despair,  the  last  counsel,  the  glimmering  of  hope,  its 
increase,  the  triumphant  issue.  Men  hard  pressed 
still  know  what  salvation  is,  and  are  able  to  awaken 


Salvation  for  Sinners.  123 

in  otliers  an  interest  in  their  experiences.  Paul  had 
found  that  salvation  of  which  all  other  salvations 
from  cold,  hunger,  thirst,  fire  and  sword,  from  pesti- 
lence and  sudden  death  are  but  faint  and  feeble 
illustrations.  Thenceforth  it  is  the  theme  of  which 
he  never  w^earies,  —  sin  and  righteousness,  death  and 
life,  released  from  the  one,  saved  unto  the  other. 
These  thoughts  fill  his  mind ;  they  have  been  burned 
into  his  life. 

Paul  had  been  chief  of  anarchists  ;  he  had  brought 
all  the  fire  of  his  ardent  temperament  into  play 
against  the  law  and  order  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
The  unrest,  the  rage,  the  bitter  hatred  belonging 
to  sin,  anarchy,  and  rebellion  had  possessed  him. 
"Saul,  Saul,  it  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against  the 
pricks."  Assailant  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  rebel 
against  Jesus  Christ,  it  is  useless  for  you  to  attempt 
to  destroy  the  foundation  which  I  have  laid.  It  is 
useless  for  you  to  attempt  to  subvert  the  princi- 
ples of  my  kingdom.  Live  in  accordance  with  them, 
or  die  opposing  them.  And  then  through  the  very 
being  of  Paul  surged  the  meaning  of  the  vision 
which  interrupted  his  maddened  course.  He  real- 
ized his  opposition  to  the  Lord  of  the  universe  and 
to  His  laws;  and  as  the  grandeur,  power,  beauty, 
and  love  of  newly  revealed  truth  dawned  upon  him, 
the  rebellion  in  his  soul  was  hushed.  The  proud, 
defiant  spirit  humbled  itself.  The  sin  and  disorder  and 
unrighteousness  in  his  soul  crumbled  away.     Faith, 


124  Salvation  for  Sinners. 

love,  and  hope  had  taken  their  place.  He  stands  in 
new  relations  to  all  things.  All  things  stand  in  new 
relations  to  him.  He  is  now  keeping  step  with  the 
commandments  of  God.  No  longer  will  the  pricks 
be  needed  to  compel  his  footsteps  to  mark  the  lim- 
its of  the  measure  ordained  by  God.  The  cry, 
"Lord,  what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do?"  is  the  sign 
that  rebellion  has  become  obedience,  that  discord  has 
become  harmony,  that  another  soul  has  entered  the 
kingdom  of  heaven. 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world  to  save 
sinners.  Paul  knew  what  it  was  to  be  a  sinner. 
He  was  to  know  now  what  it  was  to  be  a  Christian. 
None  other  of  the  apostles  knew  by  actual  exper- 
ience what  it  was  to  be  chief  of  sinners,  and  yet  be 
saved.  The  revelation  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  had 
raised  them  to  the  highest  elevation,  but  it  had  not 
raised  them  from  an  equal  depth.  None  had  been 
confronted  in  acts  of  high-handed  rebellion. 

Paul  was  chief  of  sinners,  but  he  became  chief 
among  saints,  because  he  recognized  his  Lord  and 
Saviour ;  and,  in  recognizing  Him,  he  saw  his  rebel- 
lion, his  sin,  his  guilt,  in  its  true  light.  Hence- 
forth, no  follower  of  God  would  be  a  stancher 
defender  of  God's  truth  and  of  His  laws  than  Paul. 
Henceforth,  the  stoutest-hearted  rebel  would  be 
the  most  loyal  subject.  He  who  had  been  leader  of 
the  powers  of  darkness  would  now  be  leader  in  the 
armies  of  God,  —  a  guiding  spirit,  whose  influence 


Salvation  for  Sinners.  125" 

would  be  felt  among  all  the  companies  of  Chris- 
tians on  earth.  The  revelations  of  Jesus  Christ, 
made  to  him,  he  would  communicate  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth.  His  brethren  in  Christ  he  urged,  rebuked, 
exhorted,  comforted,  loved.  He  would  have  all  to 
follow  in  his  footsteps,  even  as  he  followed  in  the 
footsteps  .of  Christ.  He  w^ould  have  every  man 
receive  the  fulness  of  the  revelation  of  Christ  which 
he  had  received.  "  Would  to  God  that  not  only  thou 
but  all  that  hear  me  this  day  were  both  almost  and 
altogether  such  as  I  am,  except  these  bonds."  His 
body  might  be  bound.  He  would  not  wish  that 
experience  for  any  man,  but  0  that  he  might  give 
to  them  the  freedom  of  his  spirit.  "Jesus  Christ 
came  not  into  the  world  to  condemn  the  world,  but 
that  the  world  through  Him  might  be  saved."  This 
was  the  burden  of  Paul's  preaching.  His  own  salva- 
tion was  the  proof  of  its  truth.  He  would  urge  us 
to  consider  the  loving-kindness,  the  long-suffering  of 
God,  so  clearly  shown  in  saving  so  great  a  sinner. 

He  would  press  home  on  all  the  encouragement 
which  they  might  gain  from  the  knowledge  of  such 
an  enemy  of  Christ  having  been  received  and  for- 
given ;  "  and  for  this  cause  I  obtained  mercy  that  in 
me  as  chief  might  Jesus  Christ  shew  forth  all  His 
long-suffering  as  an  example  of  them  which  -  should 
hereafter  believe." 

This,  then,  is  the  lesson  which  we  are  to  receive 
from   the  v/ords  of  the  text,    "  Faithful  is  the   say- 


126  Salvation  for  Sinners. 

ing,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation  that  Christ  Jesus 
came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners."  It  is  because 
Christ  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners  that  Paul 
was  saved.  It  is  because  Jesus  Christ  came  as 
Saviour  that  we  may  be  saved.  The  day  of  salva- 
tion has  dawned,  but  it  has  not  yet  closed.  To-day, 
the  Saviour  calls.  All  sinners,  as  well  as  the  chief, 
need  salvation.  Will  you  not  look  at  your  Saviour 
Ions  enough  to  recoc^nize  Him  ?  Shall  we  not  let 
the  knowledge  of  God,  shining  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ,  blind  us  to  lesser  worldly  lights  ?  Be  as- 
sured that  when  Jesus  Christ  blinds  our  eyes  to 
this  world,  it  is  that  He  may  open  them  on  another, 
which  is  illuminated  not  by  the  light  of  an  earthly 
sun,  but  by  the  Lamb  of  God.  If  both  lights  are 
shiniuf^  for  us  at  once,  shall  we  not  close  them 
toward  earth,  and  open  them  toward  heaven  ?  Our 
natural  eye  is  pained  by  conflicting  lights,  and  so  it 
is  with  the  eye  of  our  understanding.  The  combi- 
nation of  earth  and  heaven,  of  Christ  and  the  world, 
obedience  and  disobedience,  will  not  bring  us  peace. 
Let  us  hear  our  Lord.  "  I  am  the  light  of  the  world. 
Look  unto  me  all  ye  ends  of  the  earth,  and  be  ye 
saved." 


III. 

CHRIST    OUR    LIFE. 


III. 

CHEIST   OUR   LIFE. 

I  avi  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches.  — John  xv.  5. 

The  community  of  the  life  of  the  believer  with  the 
life  of  Christ  is  a  truth  made  clear  to  us  through 
many  different  forms  of  representation.  It  is  pre- 
sented in  the  form  of  analogy,  of  symbolic  utterance 
and  symbolic  rite,  and  again  it  finds  expression 
in  literal  statement.  In  the  words  which  have  been 
chosen  as  the  text,  the  representation  is  given 
in  analogical  form.  It  is  an  object-lesson  in  spirit- 
ual truth  drawn  from  the  processes  of  nature.  The 
vine,  one  of  the  most  familiar  objects  with  which  a 
Jewish  audience  was  acquainted,  is  chosen  as  the 
basis  of  the  truth  to  be  conveyed,  and  the  special  fea- 
ture of  the  vine  to  which  attention  is  drawn  is  one 
which  every  observer  would  recognize  and  appre- 
ciate, —  the  relation  of  the  branches  to  the  vine. 
The  life  of  the  branch  was  in  the  vine.  Cut  off  from 
this  centre  of  life,  not  only  was  the  power  of  fruit- 
age destroyed  but  its  own  existence  speedily  de- 
clined.    The  branch  did  not  possess  an  independent 

9 


130  Christ  our  Life, 

life ;  the  condition  of  its  meeting  the  aim  of  its  exist- 
ence was  continuance  in  the  vine. 

"  I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches.  He  that 
abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same  beareth  much 
fruit ;  for,  apart  from  me,  ye  can  do  nothing.  If  a 
man  abide  not  in  me,  he  is  cast  off  as  a  branch,  and 
is  withered." 

Spiritual  truth  is  frequently  enforced  by  present- 
ing an  analogy  between  the  processes  of  the  natural 
and  spiritual  world  ;  and,  in  this  instance,  we  have 
authority  of  Christ  that  the  analogy  between  the 
natural  and  the  spiritual  has  actual  substantive 
existence.  We  are  thus  assured  that  the  resem- 
blance noticed  is  real  and  not  fancied.  The  relations 
of  spiritual  existence  have  a  like  reality,  and  are 
possessed  of  the  same  characteristics  as  the  corres- 
ponding facts  of  physical  life  with  which  they  are 
compared.  The  branches  inhere  in  the  vine  :  we 
inhere  in  Christ  ;  and  the  vital  union  subsisting 
between  the  vine  and  the  branches  represents  the 
relationship  between  ourselves  and  Christ.  As  the 
life  of  the  vine  passes  into  the  branch  and  consti- 
tutes the  life  of  the  branch,  insuring  its  existence 
and  power  of  fruitage,  so  the  life  of  Christ  consti- 
tutes our  life,  and  is  the  active  agent  and  vital  force 
effecting  power  of  usefulness. 

Again  we  find  this  truth  expressed  symbolically 
in  the  discourse  based  on  the  miraculous  supply  of 
loaves  and  fishes,  as  narrated  in  the  Gospel  of  John. 


Christ  OUT  Life.  131 

"  Except  ye  eat  the  flesli  of  the  Son  of  man,  and 
drink  His  blood,  ye  have  not  life  in  yourselves. 
He  that  eateth  my  flesh,  and  drinketh  my  blood, 
hath  eternal  life ;  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the 
last  day.  For  my  flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and  my 
blood  is  drink  indeed.  He  that  eateth  my  flesh, 
and  drinketh  my  blood,  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in 
him"  (John  vi.  53-56). 

The  same  truth  receives  outward  symbolic  form 
in  the  Lord's  Supper.  "  And  .  .  .  Jesus  took  bread, 
.  .  .  and  said,  Take,  eat :  this  is  my  body  (Mark  xiv. 
22).  And  he  took  the  cup,  .  .  .  and  gave  it  to 
them  ...  (v.  23),  and  .  .  .  said  .  .  . :  This  is  my 
blood  of  the  new  testament,  which  is  shed  for 
many"  (v.  24). 

Thus  we  have  a  constant  outward  memorial  that 
the  life  of  Christ,  poured  out  for  us  so  far  as  His 
body  was  concerned,  is  the  source  and  quickening 
power  of  our  spiritual  life. 

But  the  teaching  of  Christ,  even  in  the  discourse 
we  have  quoted,  did  not  lack  express  definite  utter- 
ances of  the  spiritual  truth  implied  in  the  symbolic 
language.  "  He  that  cometh  to  me  shall  not  hun- 
ger, and  he  that  believeth  on  me  shall  never  thirst " 
(John  vi.  35).  "  For  this  is  the  will  of  my  Father 
that  every  one  that  beholdeth  the  Son  and  be- 
lieveth on  Him,  shall  have  eternal  life "  (v.  40). 
"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he  that  believeth 
hath  eternal  life "  (v.  47).     *'  It  is  the  spirit  that 


132  Christ  our  Life. 

quickeneth ;  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing "  (v.  63). 
But  notwithstanding  this  plain  exhibition  of  the 
spiritual  meaning  of  the  words  of  Christ,  the  illus- 
trations which  he  used,  which  might  have  served  to 
deepen  and  intensify  their  meaning,  were  interpreted 
in  a  gross,  realistic  sense,  which  obscured  the  truth 
intended  to  be  conveyed,  and  made  the  illustration 
itself  gross  and  absurd.  Nicodemus  marvels  at  the 
second  birth.  The  woman  of  Samaria  expresses  a 
desire  for  the  water  which  shall  quench  physical 
thirst.  The  hungry  multitude  seeks  earthly  manna. 
They  fail  to  discern  the  truth  which  Christ  sought 
to  impress  upon  them.  "  It  is  the  spirit  that  quick- 
eneth ;  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing  "  (John  vi.  63). 

As  Christ  endeavors  to  show  that  spiritual  life 
subsists  in  Him,  and  flows  from  Him  as  its  source, 
and  uses  the  chief  supports  of  physical  life  —  meat, 
bread,  and  water  —  to  bring  out  the  reality  of  the 
relationship,  and  by  analogy  from  the  world  of  the 
flesh  which  profiteth  nothing,  to  convey  a  know- 
ledge of  the  truths  belonging  to  the  spiritual  sphere 
which  quickeneth,  —  they  eagerly  grasped  at  the  out- 
ward, fleshly  idea.  They  craved  bread  and  meat 
and  water ;  but,  failing  to  discern  the  truth  veiled  in 
these  symbols,  they  questioned  among  themselves, 
How  can  this  Man  be  the  bread  which  came  down 
from  heaven ?  "How  can  this  Man  give  us  His  flesh 
to  eat?"  The  monstrous  character  of  the  thought 
repels  them.     From  that  time,  many  left  Him,  and 


Christ  our  Life.  133 

walked  no  more  with  Him.  But  the  twelve  main- 
tained their  loyalty,  recognizing  the  truth  of  Christ's 
word,  "  The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  they  are 
spirit,  and  they  are  life."  They  answer  His  appeal, 
"Will  ye  also  go  away?"  by  the  confession:  "Lord, 
to  whom  shall  we  go  ?  Thou  hast  the  words  of  eter- 
nal life,  and  we  have  believed  and  know  that  Thou 
art  the  Holy  One  of  God."  The  apostles  accepted 
the  revealed  personality  of  Christ,  and  of  necessity 
accepted  His  teaching.  Then,  too,  they  received 
clearer  instruction  than  the  multitude,  and  the 
truth  was  presented  to  them  in  simpler  forms. 
They  were  better  qualified  than  the  average  hearer 
to  give  an  intelligent  account  of  Christ's  teaching ; 
but  it  was  not  until  Christ's  ascension  and  the  out- 
pouring of  the  spirit,  that  they  were  led  into  the 
fulness  of  truth.  They  had  not  like  many  disciples 
followed  a  false  line  of  reasoning  which  led  them  to 
an  impossible  and  absurd  explanation  of  what  they 
did  not  understand,  and  then,  by  logical  sequence,  to 
reject  Christ  because  of  the  absurdity  which  they 
themselves  had  originated. 

We  may  naturally  look,  then,  to  the  teaching  of 
the  apostles  to  find  the  truth  of  union  with  Christ 
as  it  is  prefigured  in  His  discourses  and  symbolized 
in  the  Lord's  Supper,  brought  out  in  its  full  spiritual 
significance. 

The  more  fully  we  comprehend  this  spiritual  sig- 
nificance, the  more  ready  we  shall  be  to  appreciate 


134  Christ  our  Life. 

the  truth  as  clothed  in  parable  or  presented  in  its 
permanent  embodied  form  in  the  sacramental 
observance.  That  the  spiritual  is  intended  to 
dominate  tbe  figure  and  the  symbol,  giving  them 
the  force  and  value  which  they  possess,  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  the  world  of  physical  life  is  never 
spoken  of  as  containing  or  conveying  spiritual  life. 
This  is  a  principle  educed  from  the  Scriptures  as  a 
whole,  and  brought  out  most  clearly  by  Christ.  The 
life  with  which  God  had  endowed  the  world  previous 
to  Christ  and  pre-eminently  since  his  coming  is  espec- 
ially disassociated  from  any  physical  manifestation. 
"  Though  we  have  known  Christ  in  the  fiesh,  yet, 
now  henceforth  know  we  Him  no  more."  The 
apostles  knew  Christ ;  but  spiritual  perception,  and 
not  flesh  and  blood,  had  revealed  it  unto  them. 

Christ  had  declared  that  the  Fatherhood  of 
Abraham  on  the  natural  side  saved  no  man.  That 
Christ  should  make  us  sharers  of  His  natural  life 
through  veritable  flesh  and  blood  is  as  great  an 
absurdity  as  the  Jews  thought  it ;  that  the  actual 
body  and  blood  of  Christ  should  be  used  to  convey 
spiritual  life  involves  as  great  a  misunderstanding 
of  the  ways  of  God  as  to  insist  that  the  spiritual 
life  of  Abraham  was  conveyed  to  his  descendants 
through   flesh   and   blood. 

Further,  the  realistic  conception  of  symbols  in 
the  New  Testament  is  precluded  by  the  spiritual 
interpretation  of  corresponding  symbols  when  they 


Christ  our  Life.  135 

occur  in  the  Old.  "  Your  Fathers  .  .  .  did  all  eat 
the  same  spiritual  meat,  and  did  all  drink  the 
same  spiritual  drink ;  and  the  rock  was  Christ  " 
(1  Cor.  X.  1-4).  The  manna  and  water  supplied 
in  the  desert,  with  which  Christ  is  identified, 
while  typically  it  represented  in  physical  forms 
the  spiritual  life  flowing  from  God,  neither  con- 
stituted that  life,  nor  did  it  convey  it.  It  is 
evident  then  that,  in  the  use  of  similar  symbols, 
the  bread  and  wine  under  the  New  Testament, 
representing  the  same  truth  as  the  manna  and 
water  of  the  Old,  are  not  to  be  understood  as  pos- 
sessing inherent  efficacy  or  any  unnatural  character 
which  does  not  actually  belong  to  them,  but  to 
demonstrate  that  so  surely  as  these  elements  are 
the  stay  and  support  of  physical  life,  so  surely  is 
Christ  the  source  and  sustenance  of  spiritual  life. 
Yet  these  two,  the  physical  and  the  spiritual,  are 
distinct.  One  does  not  trespass  upon  the  ground 
of  the  other;  they  are  not  to  be  confused.  Neither 
is  there  transmutation  nor  interchange  between 
them.  If  we  admit  the  force  and  emphasis  which 
Scripture  lays  upon  the  separation  and  distinctness 
of  these  two  elements,  not  in  the  sense  of  one  as 
sinful  and  the  other  not,  but  in  the  sense  that 
they  belonged  to  separate  spheres,  and  that  flesh 
and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God,  —  if 
we  admit  this  separation,  then  we  are  at  once  pre- 
pared to  gain  intelligent,  clear  conceptions  of  the 


136  Christ  our  Life. 

relation  which  these  two  spheres,  though  separate, 
sustain  to  each  other.  AVe  thus  avoid  the  cloudi- 
ness of  mysticism  and  the  absurdity  of  realism. 
The  natural  and  the  spiritual  are  found  to  exist 
side  by  side,  running  in  parallel  lines  and  mutu- 
ally interpreting  each  other.  As  we  contemplate 
the  significance  of  the  facts  and  processes  of  the 
natural  world,  which  is  the  sign  of  the  spiritual, 
they  become  replete  with  spiritual  meaning,  and, 
as  we  contemplate  the  spiritual  knowledge  thus 
gained,  we  return  with  quickened  powers  of  appre- 
ciation to  the  natural  and  physical  world  of  sense, 
which  is  the  divinely  constituted  symbolism  of  the 
spiritual.  Nature  reveals  to  us  more  of  God ;  and 
the  revelation  thus  gained  gives  us  a  deeper  insight 
into  nature,  so  that  the  natural  and  the  spiritual 
become  alternate  stepping  stones  by  which  we  may 
ascend  toward  a  higher  spiritual  understanding. 

The  figurative  and  symbolic  teachings  of  Christ 
thus  become  sources  of  knowledge  which  w^e  can 
never  exhaust.  Not  until  we  have  solved  the  mys- 
tery of  physical  life  in  the  world  of  nature  can  we 
attain  the  fulness  of  spiritual  knowledge  which 
Christ  reveals  to  us  through  the  facts  and  processes 
of  the  natural  world ;  but  the  farther  we  penetrate 
the  mysterious  relation  of  living  organisms  to 
the  natural  principle  of  life  which  dominates  and 
controls  their  growth  and  development ;  the  farther 
we  understand  the  mysterious  vital  processes   by 


Christ  OUT  Life.  137 

which  all  forms  of  life  are  sustained,  —  the  deeper 
insight  we  shall  have  into  the  truth  which  our 
Lord  expressed  by  likening  Himself  to  the  vine  of 
which  we  are  branches,  and  by  representing  Him- 
self as  the  bread  of  heaven  on  which  we  feed.  It 
is  in  Him  as  a  spiritual  vine  that  our  life  inheres. 
It  is  from  Him  that  we  gain  the  sustenance,  —  the 
flesh  and  blood  of  our  spiritual  life. 

But  while  Christ  spake  in  parables  and  symbols 
representative  of  the  truth,  He  also  spoke  openly 
and  simply  to  the  apostles  w^hile  He  was  with 
them,  to  the  apostles  through  the  spirit  when  He 
was  taken  away  from  them ;  and  that  which  they 
could  not  understand  nor  appreciate  while  He  was 
with  them,  they  began  to  comprehend  as  the  spirit 
revealed  its  meaning.  "  We  have  the  mind  of 
Christ, "  says  the  apostle.  "  Your  member ;  are 
members  of  Christ ;  your  bodies  are  the  temples  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  in  whom  God  dwells.  "  Could  iden- 
tification be  more  complete  ?  Thoughts,  words,  and 
deeds,  body  and  soul,  as  well  as  spirit  quickened 
by  God.  "  For  me  to  live  is  Christ, "  says  the 
apostle.  It  is  no  longer  I  that  live,  but  Christ 
liveth  in  me.  "  The  words  that  I  speak  unto 
you, "  says  Christ,  "  they  are  spirit  and  they  are 
life."  So  it  was  with  the  words  of  the  apostle; 
so  it  is  with  the  words  of  each  and  every  Chris- 
tian to-day  in  whom  the  spirit  of  God  dwells. 
The  inspiration    is  one  with  that   of   Christ,   one 


138  Christ  our  Life. 

wiLli  tlio  apostles,  one  witli  the  Cliurch  universal, 
since  the  spirit  of  God  which  dwelt  in  Christ  is 
one  with  the  spirit  which  dwells  in.  us,  by  wliich 
we  become  partakers  of  the  divine  nature.  Christ's 
human  nature  was  like  ours;  our  divine  nature  is 
lik(i  His.  As  He  was  tlie  (jlod-man,  so  we  are 
(iod-nicn  ;  "  fur  if  He  called  them  Cods  to  whom 
the;  Word  of  (iodcarae, "  the  Scripture  cannot  be 
broken,  if  W(;  are  then  one  with  (Jhrist,  let  us 
tak(i  to  ourselves  the  comfort  and  strength  and 
peace  and  happiness  which  it  brings.  The  relation 
of  Cod  to  Christ  is  His  relation  with  us.  That 
reliance  which  He  placed  in  the  Father  it  is  our 
privilege  to  depend  upon  ;  that  answer  to  prayer 
never  made  in  vain  may  become  our  experience. 
Let  us  go  forth,  then,  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord; 
for  all  power  is  given  to  man  in  heaven  and  on 
earth.  1'hat  power  V)ecomes  ours  through  Him ; 
and  if  we  follow  Him  in  His  humiliation,  with 
the  invisible  but  constant  presence  of  the  Almighty 
Cod  to  depend  upon,  we  shall  be  identified  with 
Him  also  in  His  exaltation.  To  Christ,  to  the 
apostles,  to  all  wlio  keep  the  word  of  His  patience, 
was  the  promise  made:  "I  will  also  keep  thee; 
and  1  will  make  thine  enemies  to  fall  down  and 
worship  at  thy  feet,  and  to  know  that  I  have  loved 
thee. " 

But  one  word  remains.     If  Christ  has  made  us 
one  with  Him,  let  us  remember  that  the  extension 


Christ  our  Life.  139 

and  enlargement  of  His  body  depends  on  us.  Let 
us  see  to  it  that  when  the  roll-call  of  the  universe 
is  heard,  not  one  name  shall  be  left  out  through 
our  failure  to  carry  the  message  of  redeeming  love 
to  every  human  soul. 


IV. 

LOVE    OF    RIGHTEOUSNESS. 


lY. 
LOVE   OF   EIGHTEOUSNESS. 

Thou  hast  loved  righteoitsness,  arid  hated  iniquity ; 
therefore  God,  thy  God,  hath  anointed  thee  with  the 
oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows.  —  Hebrews  i.  9. 

The  Christian  life  is  here  presented  to  us  in  the 
character  of  Him  who  was  its  head,  as  a  matter  of 
choice,  inclination,  affection.  The  direction  of  the 
soul  toward  righteousness  has  not  been  that  of 
external  control,  but  of  inward  sympathy. 

The  inner  life  —  its  tastes  and  aspirations  —  has 
gone  out  in  the  direction  of  righteousness.  There 
has  been  no  thought  of  attaining  self-righteousness, 
of  rii^id  obedience  to  an  external  law,  nor  of  a 
stoical  subordination  to  the  demands  of  duty,  but 
a  free,  natural,  and  unbiassed  choice  following  the 
dictates  of  the  heart,  which  has  sought  to  control 
and  direct  its  activities  according  to  the  highest  and 
holiest  laws  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  Such  was  the 
witness  of  God  to  the  character  and  disposition  of 
His  Son. 

The  side  of  the  truth  thus  displayed  to  us  is 
apart  from  the   ordinary  and  general  presentation 


144  Love  of  Righteousness, 

of  the  Christian  life.  Conflict  and  duty  are  the 
two  phases  in  which  this  is  commonly  portrayed. 
The  compelling  power  of  a  strong  will  subjugating 
the  life  in  the  midst  of  adverse  circumstances  is 
the  picture  of  faith  commonly  held  up  to  us.  The 
will,  and  not  the  affections,  is  represented  as  the 
prime  mover  of  Christian  life  ;  and  hence  restraint 
rather  than  freedom,  compulsion  rather  than  love, 
the  letter  of  the  law  rather  than  the  spirit,  —  is  the 
dominant  force. 

"  Thou  hast  loved  righteousness,  and  hated  in- 
iquity." In  greater  or  less  measure  it  may  be 
said  that  these  words  apply  to  all  Christians ;  and 
did  they  but  recognize  their  truthful  application  in 
their  own  experience,  it  would  bring  them  greater 
satisfaction  with  the  past,  and  greater  encouragement 
for  the  future. 

One  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  prevent  a  clear 
conception  of  union  with  God,  of  oneness  with 
Christ,  of  being  partakers  of  His  love,  of  His  will, 
of  His  purposes ;  one  of  the  greatest  hindrances 
to  prevent  recognition  of  our  being  sons  of  God 
and  of  the  blessings  which  flow  from  a  rifrht  under- 
standing  of  that  fact,  —  is  found  in  our  blindness  in 
not  recognizing  the  work  of  God's  spirit  in  our 
ordinary  and  daily  life ;  in  not  recognizing  His 
spirit  in  the  daily  choosing  of  good  and  rejection 
of  evil ;  in  not  recognizing  His  spirit  in  our  right 
reasoning  overcoming  sophistry ;  in  not  recognizing 


Love  of  Righteousness.  145 

His  spirit  working  love  within  our  heart  in  the 
sphere  of  earthly  relationships,  effecting  faithfulness 
and  devotion  toward  the  smaller  circle  of  family 
and  kindred,  while  expanding  our  love  and  sym- 
pathy toward  mankind. 

We  overlook  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel  in  fur- 
nishing abundant  and  available  proofs  of  faith. 
Laying  stress  upon  great  things,  we  overlook  the 
lesser  events  of  life,  in  which  we  might  find  more 
certain  and  available  evidence  to  certify  our  faith, 
and  assure  us  of  the  presence  of  the  spirit.  Let 
us  consider  for  a  moment  some  of  the  influences 
which  lead  us  to  miss  the  truth  while  earnestly 
searching  for  it. 

In  the  first  place,  our  natural  impulse  is  to  asso- 
ciate the  idea  of  faith  with  a  life  and  conduct  at 
once  difficult  and  unnatural  to  our  tastes  and  dis- 
positions. Hence  we  make  the  mistake  of  not 
observing  how  far  our  tastes,  dispositions,  and  striv- 
ings after  higher  and  nobler  living  are  already  in 
accord  with  the  spirit  of  Christ ;  how  far  following 
Christ  is  a  matter  of  developing  His  spirit  already 
in  us,  and  not  a  total  change  of  character  and  dis- 
position. This  applies  very  largely  to  all  who  have 
received  Christian  training  and  education,  but  also 
to  others  outside  of  the  Christian  pale,  who  have 
endeavored  to  frame  their  lives  according  to  the 
light  that  is  within  them. 

When  Peter  was  directed  to  the  Eoman  centurion, 

10 


146  Love  of  Righteousness. 

a  righteous  man  and  one  that  feared  God,  the  im- 
pression which  the  apostle  received  from  God's 
dealings  with  Cornelius  found  instant  utterance. 
*'  Of  a  truth,  I  perceive,  that  God  is  no  respecter 
of  persons  ;  but  in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  Him, 
and  worketh  righteousness,  is  accepted  with  Him." 
And  the  truth  of  which  Peter  was  the  accredited 
bearer  did  not  reflect  on  the  imperfect  faith  which 
the  centurion  had  formerly  held,  but  was  the  natu- 
ral development  of  that  faith  into  the  full  light 
of  the  gospel.  When  Paul  found  disciples  at 
Ephesus  who  had  known  only  the  baptism  of  John, 
he  did  not  criticise  their  partial  knowledge,  but 
linked  it  to  faith  in  Christ,  of  whom  John  had 
spoken. 

When  the  rich  young  man  appealed  to  Christ  for 
an  answer  to  his  question.  What  good  thing  must 
I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life  ?  Our  Lord  first  directed 
his  attention  to  the  commandments ;  and  having 
found  that  he  had  been  faithful  to  them,  He  did 
not  answer  him  that  there  was  nothing  in  his 
former  obedience  to  the  divine  law,  as  he  had  under- 
stood it.  On  the  contrary,  our  Lord  plainly  admits 
that  so  far  it  was  well.  He  had  been  in  line  with 
the  children  of  God. — with  faith  and  obedience  to 
God,  so  far.  The  one  thing  he  needed  was  to  con- 
tinue as  he  had  begun  ;  to  follow  out  to  its  natural 
conclusion  the  obedience  to  God,  which  he  had 
already    manifested.      The    partial    surrender,   the 


Love  of  Righteoitsness.  147 

partial  growth,  needed  only  to  complete  itself  in 
the  line  of  its  former  development.  His  refusal 
to  heed  Christ's  final  command  does  not  come 
within  the  scope  of  our  illustration.  It  is  sufficient 
to  observe  that  Christ  recognized  and  admitted  the 
elements  of  his  life  already  Christian  ;  that  they 
did  not  require  change,  but  extension  and  develop- 
ment. So  with  regard  to  many.  If  w^e  exercised 
care  in  observing  how  far  our  life  had  already  been 
permeated  by  the  spirit  of  God,  and  how  far  His 
commandments  had  been  a  matter  of  daily  practice, 
we  should  be  able  to  see  that  in  a  measure  a  love 
of  righteousness  and  hatred  of  iniquity  had  already 
begun,  and  in  it  we  should  find  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  faith  within  us. 

In  the  evidences  of  parental  care,  filial  affection, 
tried  friendship,  in  fidelity  to  daily  tasks,  in  affec- 
tions inclining  us  to  the  worship  of  God,  to  attend- 
ance on  His  Word,  to  companionship  with  fellow 
believers,  —  in  all  these  things  we  might  find 
evidence  of  the  goodness  of  God  working  within  us, 
as  we  find  in  the  external  world  of  rain  and  sun- 
shine and  fruitful  harvests  the  goodness  of  God 
working  without  us. 

A  second  obstacle  which  presents  itself  in  obscur- 
ing our  faith  and  causing  doubts  of  its  existence  is 
the  failure  to  distinguish  between  mature  and  imma- 
ture faith.  Instead  of  drawing  the  line  of  life  between 
belief  and  unbelief,  between  Christ  and  the  world, 


148  Love  of  Righteousness. 

it  is  drawn  between  the  beginnings  of  faith  and  its 
fuller  development,  between  faith  just  begun  and 
faith  of  long  standing.  As  though  the  mpstard  seed 
should  dispute  and  hesitate,  hang  in  uncertainty 
about  its  nature,  because  it  had  not  yet  attained  the 
dimensions  of  a  tree ;  as  though  it  should  deny  its 
origin  and  capacities,  its  relationship  and  kindred, 
because  it  saw  no  signs  in  its  tender  shoots  and 
pliant  branches  of  the  strength  which  should  afford 
a  resting-place  for  the  birds  of  heaven. 

The  strength  of  purpose,  fixedness  of  aim,  the  set 
of  affection,  which  they  know  as  the  characteristics 
of  faith,  become  a  stumbling-block  to  many  because 
they  do  not  perceive  that  they  are  in  the  line  of 
attaining  them.  They  believe  in  their  existence 
because  they  trust  the  testimony  and  life  of  others 
who  have  experienced  them  in  heart  and  manifested 
them  in  life ;  but  they  overlook  the  tendencies 
toward  a  like  faith  within  themselves.  They  look 
for  a  faith  above  their  grasp,  beyond  their  reach,  — 
at  a  distance  from  them,  instead  of  faith  near  them, 
within  their  heart.  When  Moses  gave  his  last  com- 
mands to  the  children  of  Israel,  he  said  to  them, 
"  This  command  which  T  command  thee  this  day,  it 
is  not  hidden  from  thee,  neither  is  it  far  off.  It  is 
not  in  heaven,  that  thou  shouldest  say.  Who  shall 
go  up  for  us  to  heaven,  and  bring  it  unto  us,  that  we 
may  hear  it,  and  do  it  ?  But  the  word  is  very  nigh 
unto  thee,  in  thy  mouth,  and  in  thy  heart,  that  thou 


Love  of  Righteousness.  149 

mayest  do  it"  (Deut.  xxx.  11,  12,  14).  As  the 
requirements  of  faith  under  the  old  dispensation 
were  not  an  unusual  nor  strange  thing,  so  under 
the  gospel,  Paul  quotes  the  words  of  Moses,  as 
applying  to  the  faith  of  Christ,  "  The  word  is  nigh 
thee,  even  in  thy  mouth,  and  in  thy  heart :  that 
is,  the  word  of  faith,  which  we  preach ;  That  if 
thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  shalt  believe  in  thine  heart  that  God  hath 
raised  Him  from  the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved  " 
(Rom.  X.  8,  9). 

It  is  not  in  the  unwonted  achievements  and 
experiences  of  others  that  we  find  the  ground  of  our 
own  faith.  The  soil  in  which  their  faith  took  root 
may  be  different  from  ours.  Their  lot  may  have 
lain  under  darker  or  sunnier  skies  ;  their  faith  may 
have  been  clearer  or  more  obscure,  more  direct  or 
more  winding.  It  may  have  followed  the  plain  or 
climbed  the  mountain,  traversed  the  desert  or  led 
through  fruitful  vales.  As  varied  as  the  experiences 
of  those  who  seek  the  frozen  north  or  tropical  heat 
may  be  the  spiritual  experiences  of  those  who  dwell 
in  the  ever-changing  circles  of  human  environment. 
The  situations  and  events  which  have  given  bent  to 
the  faith  of  others  may  be  strange  to  us. 

It  is  within  the  sphere  of  circumstances  in  which 
we  have  been  placed,  which  have  thus  far  attended 
us,  that  we  may  look  for  the  existence  and 
sustenance   of   personal  faith.      "  Thou  hast  loved 


150  Lo'ce  of  Righteousness. 

righteousness,  and  hated  iniquity."  These  words  are 
the  touchstone  of  nature,  disposition,  and  character. 
There  is  no  dividing  line  which  sinks  deeper.  There 
is  none  which  discriminates  more  sharply  between 
the  objects  which  present  themselves  to  human 
experience.  They  apply  pre-eminently  to  the  Son  of 
God,  since  none  other  had  such  a  wide  range  of  evil 
to  contemplate,  and  so  thoroughly  understood  its 
character  and  consequences  ;  none  other  so  under- 
stood righteousness  in  the  deep  and  everlasting 
contrast  which  it  presented  to  iniquity.  The  bless- 
ing and  favor  of  God  descended  upon  the  respon- 
siveness of  his  heart  toward  righteousness  and  its 
rejection  of  evil.  "  Therefore  God,  even  thy  God, 
hath  anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above 
thy  fellows."  It  is  not  in  the  play  of  our  mental 
powers  that  we  are  called  upon  to  love  righteousness 
and  hate  iniquity,  but  in  the  actual  events  of  life, 
in  which  sin  and  holiness  present  themselves  to  us, 
that  we  find  the  field  for  the  exercise  of  our  affec- 
tions. The  wide  survey,  the  discriminating  vision 
of  the  Son  of  God,  may  not  belong  to  us.  The 
rational  foundation  for  our  affection,  the  depths  of 
perception  which  could  penetrate  the  mystery  of 
evil,  undoubting  and  undaunted,  we  may  not  have ; 
nevertheless,  within  the  sphere  of  daily  experience, 
we  are  able  to  cherish  the  same  disposition  which 
marked  the  life  of  our  Lord.  There  is  the  same 
opportunity  given  to  us  to  show  the  disposition  of 


Love  of  Righteousness.  151 

our  hearts.  We  may  not  see  far  on  the  path  before 
us ;  but,  taking  each  event  as  it  occurs,  we  may  be 
assured  that  in  cultivating  a  sympathy  and  respon- 
siveness toward  every  good  as  it  declares  itself  to 
us,  whether  in  our  surroundings  or  in  our  own  soul, 
we  show  a  spirit  identical  with  our  Lord's.  To 
recognize,  then,  not  only  the  possible  acquirement 
but  the  present  possession  of  taste,  inclination, 
affections  which  move  in  the  direction  of  truth, 
holiness,  and  righteousness  ;  to  recognize  a  hunger 
and  thirst  for  such  things  as  the  kingdom  of  God 
offers  to  them  that  seek  it ;  to  recognize  that  the 
drawing  of  the  heart,  the  outgoing  of  the  soul 
toward  the  highest  aim  and  conduct  of  life,  is  the 
divinely  implanted  capacity  which  God  has  given  us 
to  respond  to  the  blessings  which  he  holds  out  to 
us ;  to  recognize  that  there  is  given  to  us  this 
motive  power,  this  impelling  force,  which  moves  us 
freely  and  voluntarily  in  the  direction  for  the  supply 
of  our  greatest  need  and  the  satisfaction  of  our 
purest  and  loftiest  aspirations, — is  essential  to  an 
understanding  of  the  hisjhest  relation  of  the  Chris- 
tian  to  his  heavenly  calling. 

"The  kimrdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  treasure 
hid  in  a  field ;  the  which  when  a  man  hath  found, 
he  hideth,  and  for  joy  thereof  goeth  and  selleth 
all  that  he  hath,  and  buyeth  that  field.  Again,  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  merchant  man, 
seeking  goodly  pearls;    who,  when    he   had    found 


152  Love  of  Righteousness. 

one  pearl  of  great  price,  went  and  sold  all  that 
he  had,  and  bought  it"  (Matt.  xiii.  44-46).  These 
parables  teach  us  that  the  treasures  of  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  the  contents  and  objects  of  the 
Christian  faith,  awaken  as  natural  and  ready  a 
response  in  the  heart  of  the  believer  as  the  prospect 
of  worldly  advantage  excites  in  the  mind  of  him 
who  seeks  it.  There  is  the  same  relation  between 
the  desire  and  the  objects  of  desire  in  the  one  case 
as  in  the  other;  the  same  readiness  to  grasp  and 
appropriate  the  satisfaction  of  a  long-felt  conscious 
and  active  need.  The  man  planning  to  obtain  the 
treasure  hid  in  the  field,  the  merchantman  endeav- 
oring to  secure  the  one  pearl  of  great  price,  were  not 
acting  under  restraint  or  fear  or  sense  of  duty. 
They  followed  the  natural  dictates  of  an  impulse 
stirred  into  action  by  the  attractiveness  of  the 
treasures  which  they  sought  to  secure.  The  adapta- 
tion of  their  desires  to  the  objects  they  valued  was 
full  and  complete,  and  showed  itself  in  the  eagerness 
with  which  they  pursued  them. 

Should  we  not  accept  the  power  of  the  illustra- 
tion in  revealing  a  true  characteristic  of  sound  and 
healthy  faith,  —  the  true  spirit  of  the  Christian's 
life,  —  not  as  a  strange,  distant,  unusual  and  un- 
attainable experience,  but  as  one  of  the  universal 
privileges  and  blessings  which  it  is  clearly  re- 
vealed in  the  Word  of  God  may  be  enjoyed  by  every 
believer.     "  Behold,  what  manner  of  love  the  Father 


Love  of  Righteousness.  153 

hatli  bestowed  upon  us  that  we  should  be  called  the 
sons  of  God.  .  .  .  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons 
of  God"  (1  John  iii.  1,  2).  A  relationship  cannot 
be  established  nor  changed  at  will.  It  stands  as 
created ;  and  all  the  natural  tendencies  which  in- 
here   in    that   relationship    seek   for   expression. 

"  And  because  ye  are  sons,  God  sent  forth  the 
Spirit  of  His  Son  into  our  hearts,  crying  Abba, 
Father"  (Gal.  iv.    6). 

To  dwell  within  the  sphere  of  this  relationship, 
encompassed  by  it,  is  the  privilege  of  every 
believer.  The  spirit  of  sonship  enables  us  to 
recognize  the  Fatherhood  of  God.  "  The  new  man 
which  after  God  is  created  in  righteousness  and 
true  holiness ; "  "  the  spirit  of  God  which  enables 
us  to  know  the  things  which  are  freely  given  us  of 
God.  "  The  truth  revealed  to  us  in  these  words  puts 
beyond  all  doubt  the  question  that  a  quick,  heart- 
felt response  to  Christian  truth,  a  keen  appreciation 
of  the  blessings  and  enjoyment  to  be  derived  from 
it,  and  an  entire  surrender  to  their  pursuit  and 
acquirement  is  as  natural  a  characteristic  of  Chris- 
tian faith  and  spiritual  life  as  the  appreciation  of 
worldly  honors    and    possessions  is  of  the  world. 

"  Thou  hast  loved  righteousness,  and  hated  ini- 
quity ;  therefore  God,  thy  God,  hath  anointed  thee 
with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows.  " 


V. 

THE    GOSPEL    FOR    ALL. 


V. 

THE   GOSPEL   FOR  ALL. 

A  nd  Tie  (Peter)  said  unto  them,  Ye  know  lioio  that  it  is  an  un- 
laicful  thing  for  a  man  that  is  a  Jew  to  keep  company,  or  come 
unto  one  of  another  nation ;  but  God  hath  shewed  me  that  I  should 
not  call  any  man  common  or  unclean.  Therefore  came  I  unto 
you  without  gainsaying,  as  soon  as  I  was  sent  for :  I  ask  there- 
fore for  what  intent  ye  have  sent  for  mef  And  Cornelius 
said,  .  .  .  Noio  therefore  are  we  all  here  present  before  God,  to 
hear  all  things  that  are  commanded  thee  of  God.  Then  Peter 
opened  his  mouth,  and  said.  Of  a  truth,  I  perceive  that  God  is  no 
respecter  of  persons :  But  in  every  nation  he  that  fear eth  Him, 
and  worketh  righteousness,  is  accepted  ivith  Him.  The  ivord 
which  God  sent  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  preaching  peace  by 
Jesus  Christ  (He  is  Lord  of  all)  :  That  word  I  say,  ye  know,  .  .  . 
While  Peter  yet  spake  .  .  .  the  Holy  Ghost  fell  on  all  them  ichich 
heard  the  icord.  .  .  .  The7i  ansicered  Peter,  Can  any  man  forbid 
water,  that  these  should  not  be  baptized,  ichich  have  received  the 
Holy  Ghost  as  well  as  wel — Acts  x.  28-4  7. 

Let  us  consider  for  a  few  moments  the  persons 
mentioned  in  this  narrative,  and  the  historical 
circumstances  which  surrounded  them.  There  is 
such  an  evident  adaptation  of  events  and  personal 
experiences  toward  a  single  result,  that  we  are 
furnished  with  a  striking  illustration  of  the  work- 
ing of  the  spirit  of  God  upon  the  hearts  of  men.    The 


158  The  Gosjod  for  All. 

interest  of  the  narrative  lies  in  the  relation  which 
two  men  are  led  to  sustain  to  each  other,  and  the 
means  through  which  this  relationship  is  effected. 
Two  characters  are  presented  to  us,  —  the  one  a  Jew, 
the  other  a  Koman.      They  are   strangers  to  each 
other,  not  only  from  accident  but  from  principle. 
By  birth  and  education,  a  wall  of  separation  had 
been  raised    between  them.      To  break  down  this 
wall ;   to  effect  union  w^here  there  had  been  divi- 
sion ;   to  create    fellowship  where  there  had  been 
estrangement,  —  is  the  object  which  binds  together 
the     incidents    related    in    a    common    purpose. 
Through    a    series    of    providential    dealings,   the 
minds  of  both  Jew  and  Eoman  w^ere  prepared  for 
that   personal    meeting   which    should  clarify   the 
faith  of  each,  opening  the  eyes  of  the  Gentile  to 
salvation    through    Christ,   and    disclosing   to    the 
Jew  his  brotherhood  with  the  Gentile.     The  means 
which   are   used  to  attain  this   result  are  notice- 
able.     A  vision   is   sent  to   the  Eoman   centurion 
and  to  the  Jewish  apostle,  bidding  the  one  send, 
the  other   go.      Each    follows   the  direction  given 
him.      There  is  no  hesitation,  no  delay.      A  swift 
response  to  the  heavenly  vision,    a    ready  obedi- 
ence to  it,  produces  in  both  characters  a  straight- 
forwardness   of    conduct,    a    manly    frankness    of 
speech,  which  speeds  the  fulfilment  of  the  divine 
purpose.      On  the   fourth  day,  Peter  stands  before 
Cornelius.      Each   relates    the    preparatory  experi- 


Tlie  Gospel  for  All  159 

ence  which  had  been  the  means  of  bringing  them 
together.  Then  Peter,  having  learned  the  cause 
for  which  Cornelius  had  summoned  him,  begins  to 
speak.  As  a  fitting  introduction  to  the  truth 
which  is  to  follow,  he  repeats  the  lesson  which  had 
been  taught  him  by  the  vision  ;  but  we  perceive  by 
the  changed  form  of  expression  that  his  brief  inter- 
course with  Cornelius  had  already  deepened  and 
emphasized  that  lesson.  He  had  stated  a  moment 
before  how  that  God  had  showed  him  that  he 
should  call  no  man  common  or  unclean.  Now  he 
exclaims :  "  Of  a  truth,  I  perceive  that  God  is  no 
respecter  of  persons ;  but  in  every  nation  he  that 
feareth  Him,  and  worketh  righteousness,  is  accepted 
with  Him. "  With  this  preface  he  preaches  unto 
them  Christ.  He  states  the  fact  of  the  resurrection, 
and  the  command  which  was  laid  upon  those  who 
witnessed  it  to  testify  that  God  had  ordained  Christ 
to  be  the  Judge  of  quick  and  dead,  and  that  for- 
giveness of  sin  was  through  belief  in  His  name. 
While  he  was  yet  speaking,  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  poured  upon  them.  Peter  cannot  fail 
to  understand  the  significance  of  the  spiritual 
blessing  thus  bestowed.  Surely,  there  can  be  no 
separation  between  those  who  have  received  like 
marks  of  God's  favor.  He  commands  them  to  be 
baptized.  The  conservatism  of  the  apostle  disap- 
pears. The  principle  which  sustains  it  vanishes 
when  it  finds  itself  openly  contradicted  by  the 
teaching   and    working    of   God. 


160  Tlie  Gos^oel  for  All. 

But  Peter  was  not  the  only  one  instructed  by 
this  event.  His  conduct  was  severely  criticised 
in  Jerusalem,  and  it  became  necessary  for  him  to 
justify  himself  against  the  charge  of  companion- 
ship with  the  uncircumcised.  His  defence  was  a 
statement  of  the  facts  as  they  had  occurred.  It 
proved  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  disputants ;  for 
when  they  heard  it,  they  held  their  peace,  and 
glorified  God,  saying :  "  Then  hath  God  also  to  the 
Gentiles  granted  repentance  unto  life.  '*  It  was 
left  to  the  early  Christian  Church  to  receive  the 
full  revelation  of  the  mystery  that  the  Gentiles 
were  fellow-heirs  with  the  Jew  in  the  gospel. 
The  doctrine  that  the  gospel  was  to  be  a  universal 
religion  was  impressed  upon  the  Church  from  the 
beginning.  It  was  revealed  to  Peter,  also  to  Paul ; 
and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  in  Antioch  it 
sprang  up  as  a  natural  development  of  the  Chris- 
tian consciousness ;  but  whether  developed  or  re- 
vealed, it  is  equally  the  work  of  the  spirit,  enforcing 
by  outward  illustration,  or  by  the  inward  enlight- 
enment of  the  understanding,  the  last  command  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour :  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature.  " 

We  may  rightly  hold,  then,  that  this  historical 
episode  between  Peter  and  Cornelius  serves  to  indi- 
cate that  the  bearing  of  the  gospel  is  world-wide. 
This  was  the  meaning  it  had  then ;  it  is  the  mean- 
ing it  has  now.     We  may  be  the  more  ready  to 


The  Gospel  for  All.  161 

recognize  its  applicability  by  a  change  of  names. 
In  the  place  of  Jew  and  Gentile  let  us  read  civi- 
lized and  uncivilized;  progressive  and  conserva- 
tive ;  educated  and  ignorant.  This  will  give  the 
matter  a  more  practical  bearing,  and  awaken  a 
more  natural  interest. 

We  need  to  be  reminded  of  the  brotherhood  of 
men.  The  temptation  is  strong  within  us  to  mis- 
take accidental  differences  for  essential  ones,  and  to 
turn  in  disgust  and  pride  from  those  whom  we  can- 
not or  will  not  understand,  simply  because  we  deny 
to  them  the  common  basis  of  thought  and  feeling 
on  which  our  humanity  rests,  and  fix  our  eyes  only 
on  those  external  features  of  their  life  which  cus- 
tom and  indifference  lead  us  to  despise  When 
in  the  presence  of  those  whose  manners  or  customs 
are  ungainly,  awkward,  backward,  we  congratulate 
ourselves  on  the  superiority  which  we  possess  over 
them  by  birth,  education,  and  religion.  We  feel 
the  presence  of  a  gap  in  our  relationship,  which 
excites  the  Pharisaic  spirit,  "  Lord,  I  thank  Thee  I 
am   not   as    other   men  " 

Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  the  two  elements 
of  this  self-righteous  spirit,  — pride  and  selfishness. 
They  are  dominant  principles  in  our  nature,  and 
standing  in  close  relation  to  each  other  they  com- 
bine to  crush  the  Christian  spirit  and  to  thwart 
Christian  effort.  It  may  be  observed  that  we  can 
exercise  pride   and  selfishness  only  in  connection 

11 


162  The  Gospel  for  All 

with  that  which  we  consider  our  own,  —  either 
something  which  is  peculiar  to  ourselves,  entailed 
in  the  line  of  our  descent,  and  therefore  inalien- 
able, or  else  something  standing  in  our  own  right, 
which  it  is  in  our  power  either  to  give  or  to  with- 
hold. Now  we  may  conceive  that  in  the  former  case 
there  may  exist  a  spirit  of  pride  which  does  not  take 
its  root  in  selfishness ;  which,  though  false,  is  nev- 
ertheless grounded  on  a  principle,  on  a  belief,  and 
that  belief  the  assumption  that  the  blessings  which 
we  enjoy  are  incommunicable,  and  that  they  are 
entailed  to  us  and  our  descendants  forever.  Hence 
we  can  always  congratulate  ourselves  upon  their 
possession,  and  none  else  can.  Outside  of  this 
personal,  spiritual  possession  we  may  endeavor  to 
aid  others ;  but  they  are  forever  excluded  from 
rising  to  the  plane  which  we  enjoy.  This  pride, 
while  resulting  in  a  selfish  and  narrow  exclusive- 
ness,  is  nevertheless  founded  on  an  intellectual 
error,  and  not  on  moral  delinquency  ;  and  hence, 
when  the  light  of  truth  falls  upon  it,  it  is  dissi- 
pated, and  the  moral  faculties,  hitherto  cramped 
by  an  error  of  belief,  at  once  assert  their  right  to 
full  and  free  exercise.  Such  was  the  pride  pos- 
sessed by  the  Jew ;  such  was  the  pride  which  was 
shattered  through  the  visit  of  Peter  to  Cornelius. 
So  long  as  the  Jew  relied  upon  what  was  pecu- 
liarly Jewish, —  his  descent  from  Abraham,  his  call- 
ing of  God,  that  which  was  not  transferable,  — he 


The  Gosjjel  for  All.  163 

regarded  all  other  men  as  essentially  different  from 
himself,  and  hence  inferior.  But  so  soon  as  it  was 
demonstrated  that  the  peculiarly  Jewish  element 
had  been  eliminated  as  a  requirement  of  faith, 
every  Jewish  heart,  dominated  by  love  for  God  and 
man,  was  filled  to  overflowing,  as  it  contemplated 
the  wide  field  of  humanity  opened  to  receive  the 
renewing  mercies  of  God.  Previously,  the  commis- 
sion of  our  Lord,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature, "  had  been 
restricted  in  the  minds  of  some,  —  to  Jews  only. 
Henceforth,  it  was  extended  to  include  the  world, 
and  none  rejoiced  more  than  those  whose  misgiv- 
ings had  been  silenced  by  Peter,  who  glorified  God 
saying,  "  Then  hath  God  also  to  the  Gentiles 
granted  repentance  unto  life.  "  We  cannot  fail  to 
notice  the  spirit  of  joy  and  thankfulness  awakened 
by  the  dawning  of  the  freshly  revealed  truth,  that 
the  Gentiles  should  be  fellow-heirs  with  the  Jew 
in  the  gospel.  Rejoicing  in  the  faith  newly 
delivered  unto  them,  they  welcomed  the  intelli- 
gence that  the  spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  was  to 
quicken  not  only  Judea  but  the  world. 

Does  not  the  conduct  of  these  early  Jewish 
Christians  furnish  an  example  which  it  would  be 
well  for  us  to  imitate  ?  The  truth  which  they 
received  is  hardly  new  to  us  \  but  the  hearty  greet- 
ing with  which  they  welcomed  it  is  seldom  seen. 
We  may  accord  it  an  abstract,  possibly  a  doubtful 


164  The  Gospel  for  All 

recognition ;  but  there  is  little  spontaneity  or 
naturalness  in  it.  We  maintain  stoutly  enough 
the  principle  that  any  and  every  human  being  may 
receive  the  gospel ;  but  we  are  indifferent  to  send- 
ing it  to  them.  Accustomed  to  the  frequent  utter- 
ance of  the  prediction,  "  that  the  Lord  shall  have  the 
heathen  for  his  inheritance  and  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth  for  his  reward, "  we  have  no  intellectual 
difficulty  which  prevents  our  acceptance  of  the 
universality  of  the  gospel.  Any  failure  to  recog- 
nize, appreciate,  and  act  on  this  truth  is  now  due 
to  moral  causes,  — to  an  indifference  or  dislike  in 
sharing  with  others  the  faith  which  was  first 
delivered  to  us.  The  true  conception  of  a  Chris- 
tian involves  the  missionary  spirit.  Whatever 
strikes  at  this  spirit  aims  a  blow  at  Christian  life. 
Paul's  declaration:  "I  am  a  debtor  both  to  the 
Jews  and  to  the  Greeks  as  much  as  in  me  is  to 
preach  the  gospel, "  is  the  legitimate  fruit  of  the 
spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  When  this  fruit 
no  longer  manifests  itself,  it  must  be  because  the 
life  which  produced  it  has  been  choked  in  its 
giowth.  Tiie  parables  of  our  Lord  furnish  the  evi- 
dence that  the  laws  of  spiritual  life  find  their  illus- 
tration in  the  lower  orders  of  creation ;  that  souls 
which  refuse  to  bear  the  fruit  naturally  expected  of 
them  have  failed  of  the  end  of  their  creation  and  are 
fit  only  to  be  cast  out.  What  then  shall  our  Lord 
say  to  us  if,  possessed  of  the  only  possible  knowl- 


Tlie  Gospel  for  All  165 

edge  which  can  redeem  the  world,  we  make  no 
effort  to  impart  it  to  others  ?  Is  it  not  our  own 
insensibility  to  the  knowledge  of  God  in  Christ 
which  makes  iis  insensible  to  the  value  which  it 
possesses  for  others  ?  "  Whatsoever  ye  would  that 
men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them.  "  How 
can  we  speak  in  exalted  terms  of  the  value  of  Chris- 
tian faith,  and  neglect  the  golden  rule  which  would 
require  our  imparting  it  to  others,  if  we  have  any 
such  sense  of  its  importance  as  we  profess  to  have  ? 
Or,  in  quoting  the  parables  of  our  Lord  which  speak 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  as  a  pearl  of  great  price ; 
as  a  treasure  hid  in  a  field,  which  when  a  man  find- 
eth,  he  goeth  and  selleth  all  that  he  hath  and 
buyeth  that  field,  —  when  we  cite  these  parables, 
have  they  become  on  our  lips  the  mere  repetition 
of  words  illustrating  an  experience  of  which  w^e 
have  no  conception  ? 

Is  our  confession  of  Christ,  our  thankfulness  to 
God  for  salvation  from  the  power  and  penalties  of 
sin,  for  the  gift  of  the  spirit  and  eternal  life, —  is 
all  this  but  the  vain  repetition  of  a  faith  which 
belonged  to  those  who  first  professed  it,  but  which 
on  our  lips  is  mere  external  adulation,  which  has 
no  root  in  the  heart,  a  stock  of  inherited  phrases, 
grounded  on  custom  more  than  on  the  love  of  God  ? 
If  this  be  so,  it  is  vain  to  criticise  a  lack  of  hearty 
Christian  activity.  It  does  not  flow  from  such  a 
source.     But  if  these  words  of  our  Lord  and  of  His 


166  Tlie  Gospel  for  All. 

apostles  do  appeal  to  us,  and  even  though  our  atti- 
tude toward  them  is  not  one  of  entire  sympathy, 
but  rather  a  prayer  that  we  might  become  capable 
of  appropriating  such  an  experience  to  ourselves, 
—  if  this  be  so,  we  may  consider  with  profit  and 
advantage  the  causes  which  hinder  our  prayers, 
which  obstruct  the  entrance  of  the  light. 

We  have  mentioned  pride  and  selfishness  as  the 
most  potent  causes  which  tend  to  stupefy  the  natu- 
ral interest  which  every  Christian  should  feel  in 
the  salvation  of  others.  It  is  to  pride  and  selfish- 
ness, then,  that  we  must  make  our  appeal,  address- 
ing our  attention  to  the  folly  and  fatality  which  are 
generally  admitted  to  be  their  inseparable  accom- 
paniments. There  is  a  strong  temptation  to  give 
no  regard  to  another  man's  conduct  or  condition, 
excepting  as  it  affects  our  own.  The  effect  of  his 
conduct  or  life  upon  himself  influences  us  but  little. 
One  of  the  most  frequently  repeated  arguments 
which  we  meet  in  favor  of  any  general  scheme  of 
benevolence  or  education  is  an  appeal  to  fear. 
Revolutionary  fears  are  made  use  of  to  excite  be- 
nevolence toward  the  dangerous  classes  of  the 
community,  in  favor  of  educating  the  freeman, 
in  favor  of  proselyting  the  Mormon.  If  this  work 
is  neglected,  we  are  told  it  will  be  deeply  regret- 
ted hereafter.  Yet,  at  the  same  time,  we  hear  it 
proclaimed  from  many  platforms  that  fear  is  an 
unmanly  motive  for  action,  and  that  one  of   the 


The  Gospel  for  All  167 

strongest  objections  to  tlie  Christian's  faith  is  his 
belief  in  a  God  who  appeals  to  .the  hearts  and  con- 
sciences of  men  through  fear  as  well  as  love ;  and 
men  proudly  boast  that  they  will  not  be  coerced 
into  obedience. 

We  see  how  slightly  this  objection  holds  in 
ordinary  human  pursuits.  Men  are  afraid  of  not 
practising  the  duties  of  common  humanity,  when= 
ever  it  can  be  shown  to  them  that  such  neglect  is 
dangerous ;  but  before  that  is  made  evident,  they 
will  calmly  ignore  them.  Again,  when  mal-treat- 
ment  is  proved  unprofitable  as  vv'ell  as  dangerous, 
and  selfishness  is  seen  to  defeat  its  own  ends,  a 
remedy  is  quickly  provided.  We  must  recognize 
the  daily  relations  which  we  sustain  to  our  fellows  ; 
and  if  we  will  not  do  it  from  love,  we  must  do  it 
from  fear.  This  principle  holds  good  in  the  higher 
relations  of  man  to  man.  The  same  selfishness 
which  restrains  the  kindly  offices  due  to  men  capa- 
ble of  attaining  the  same  level  of  human  and 
humane  accomplishment  which  we  have  reached, 
also  exists  to  prevent  the  Christian  from  recogniz- 
ing the  claims  which  men  have  on  him  to  bring  to 
them  the  faith  of  the  gospel.  Tt  would  be  as  easy 
to  demonstrate  that  it  would  inure  to  our  benefit  to 
spread  throughout  the  world  the  salvation  of  which 
we  have  received,  as  it  would  be  to  prove  that  we 
shared  the  benefits  resulting  from  the  improved 
political,  social,  and  sanitary  science  which  others 


168  The  Gospel  for  All 

have  received  from  us.  How  can  two  live  together 
except  they  be  agreed  ?  The  world  is  growing 
smaller,  and  the  action  and  reaction  of  nations 
living  in  contact,  but  not  in  agreement,  is  becoming 
sharper.  Superstition,  infidelity,  heathenism, —  are 
all  grating  against  the  Christian  Church.  Many 
times  in  the  past  has  the  pitiless,  tireless  friction 
continued,  until  Christian  communities  and  Chris- 
tian life  have  been  ground  out.  The  duty  of 
preaching  the  gospel  to  every  creature  is  a  danger- 
ous one  to  neglect.  Through  its  omission,  every 
creature  may  unite  in  one  common  cause  against 
you.  It  was  the  conversion  of  the  Eoman  Empire 
which  stayed  Koman  persecution.  It  was  the  faith 
of  princes  and  rulers  which  stayed  the  progress  of 
the  Inquisition,  and  drove  back  the  ranks  of  spirit- 
ual tyranny.  It  is  only  through  the  world 
becoming  Christian  that  Christians  will  be  ex- 
empted from  persecution.  Many  are  the  lines  of 
argument  which  may  be  used  to  arouse  the  Chris- 
tian from  apathy  toward  the  spiritual  interests  of 
others, — fears,  lest  his  own  heart  become  indu- 
rated through  lack  of  exercise ;  fears,  lest  the 
responsibility  for  keeping  silence  be  charged  upon 
him;  shame  at  falling  behind  in  Christian  effort; 
shame  at  the  failure  to  recognize  the  sacrifices 
made  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  to  perpetu- 
ate the  truth  and  deliver  it  intact  to  the  present 
generation,  and  the  duty  which  devolves  upon  us 
in    our   turn    to   deliver    it   to    others. 


The  Gospel  for  All  1G9 

God  hath  showed  us  that  we  should  not  call  any 
man  common  or  unclean  ;  and  yet  we  by  no  means 
receive  this  truth,  with  the  alacrity  which  Peter 
showed,  notwithstanding  the  circumstances  under 
which  we  receive  it  are  more  favorable  than  were 
those  of  Peter.  Jewish  exclusiveness  might  plead 
in  its  defence  an  incomplete  revelation.  It  was 
not  revealed  unto  them,  as  it  is  unto  us,  that 
the  Gentiles  should  be  fellow-heirs  of  the  promise 
of  God  in  Christ  through  the  gospel.  We  can  no 
longer  plead  ignorance  to  justify  prejudices.  Our 
Christian  or  unchristian  exclusiveness  and  antipa- 
thies  rest  solely  on  the  baser  parts  of  human  nature, 
however  much  we  may  seek  to  nourish  the  delu- 
sion that  they  are  the  offspring  of  nobler  qualities. 
The  tree  is  known  by  its  fruits ;  the  presence  of 
the  gospel  is  attested  likewise  by  its  known  and 
legitimate  effects.  The  love  of  God  is  made 
apparent  through  the  keeping  of  His  command- 
ments. Many  are  asking  of  the  Lord  to-day. 
"What  is  the  chief  commandment?"  They  have 
no  difficulty  in  obtaining  an  answer,  "  Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God,  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with 
all  thy  soul,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.  "  But 
willing  to  justify  themselves  against  an  answer 
which  strikes  their  conscience,  they  ask  the  second 
question,  "  Lord,  who  is  my  neighbor  ?"  The  story 
of  the  Good  Samaritan  drives  the  truth  still  nearer 
home.     Those  in  need  of  assistance  are  your  neigh- 


170  The  Gospel  for  All 

bors.  However  afflicted  in  body  or  soul,  the  heal- 
ing balm  which  has  restored  you  will  restore  them. 
Their  physical  organism  is  similar.  Their  soul  is 
similar.  What  has  saved  you  will  save  them. 
Lack  of  sympathy  with  them  indicates  that  human- 
ity and  faith  are  at  a  low  ebb ;  that  the  instincts  and 
principles  have  weakened,  which  alone  guarantee 
sympathy  with  our  fellowmen,  enabling  us  to  re-  ^ 
joice  with  them  that  do  rejoice,  to  weep  with  them 
that  weep. 

To  deny  or  ignore  the  capacity  of  other  men  to 
appreciate  the  preciousness  of  true  human  and  divine 
relationships,  is  either  to  deny  a  manhood  amply 
attested  by  history,  or  to  deny  the  promises  of  God. 
Not  only  has  God  said  "  Thou  shalt  call  no  man 
common  or  unclean, "  but  he  has  demonstrated  it 
by  the  outpouring  of  His  spirit  upon  all  classes  and 
conditions  of  men.  The  learned,  the  ignorant, 
the  refined,  the  brutal,  the  savage,  and  the  civi- 
lized have  alike  experienced  the  work  of  the 
spirit;  have  alike  rejoiced  in  sins  forgiven,  and  the 
hope  of  a  glorious  resurrection.  The  object-lessons 
of  God  are  many  and  striking.  The  text  itself 
furnishes  a  marked  illustration  of  the  readiness  of 
the  Gentile  to  receive  the  gospel.  We  often  over- 
look the  demand  which  springs  up  naturally  in 
the  human  heart  for  the  facts  and  truths  which  the 
gospel  proclaims.  A  demand  indeed  due  to  the 
influence  of  the  spirit,  but  which  neither  he  who 


The  Gospel  for  All.  Ill 

feels  it  nor  he  who  observes  it  can  separate  from 
the  individual  personality  in  which  it  manifests 
itself.  But  its  existence  is  certified  to  the  one  by 
an  experience  similar  to  the  man  born  blind,  whose 
sight  was  restored  by  Christ :  "  Whereas  I  was 
blind  ;  now  I  see.  "  To  the  onlooker  the  fact  of 
conversion  is  assured  by  the  same  evidence  which 
convinced  Peter :  "  Forasmuch,  then,  as  God  gave 
them  the  like  gift  as  he  gave  unto  us  who  believed 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  what  was  I  that  I  could 
withstand  God  ?  "  We  seldom  think  of  the  spirit 
of  God  preparing  the  hearts  of  men  for  the  gospel. 
Too  often  we  think  of  the  spirit  as  following  our 
efforts  instead  of  being  far  in  advance.  "  Look 
upon  the  fields, "  said  our  Lord ;  "  they  are  white 
already  to  harvest.  The  harvest  indeed  is  plente- 
ous, but  the  laborers  are  few.  "  There  are  many  of 
every  age  and  nation  eager,  anxious  to  welcome  the 
Christian's  faith.  Shall  we  ignore  their  appeals, 
scorn  their  protestations,  doom  them  to  the  miseries 
of  a  pagan  or  Godless  creed  ?  The  question  awaits 
our  answer.  Has  the  love  of  God  blinded  and 
darkened  our  hearts  that  we  should  restrict  the 
knowledge    of    it    to    ourselves  ? 

There  is  an  incident  which  speaks  of  an  Ameri- 
can Indian,  who  had  left  his  people  and  travelled 
among  the  sights  and  sounds  of  civilization. 
Upon  his  return  they  questioned  him,  asking  him 
what  seemed  the  most  wonderful  of  all  the  things 


172  The  Gospel  for  All. 

that  lie  had  seen.  He  answered,  "  When  I  stood 
in  the  church  and  saw  the  great  congregation, 
and  thought  that  they  had  been  here  four  hun- 
dred years  and  had  known  all  this,  and  had  not 
come  to  tell  us,  — that  seemed  to  me  most  wonder- 
ful. "  We  may  mock  at  such  an  experience  as  the 
childish  sentimentalism  of  a  savage ;  we  may  ride 
rough  shod  over  those  whose  longing  for  what  is 
purer  and  lovelier  and  nobler  than  anything  they 
possess  is  uttered  in  language  so  simple  and  direct; 
we  may  look  upon  it  as  weakness ;  w^e  may  ignore, 
scorn,  or  pity  it  according  to  the  humor  of  the 
hour, — but  as  certainly  as  that  cry  for  help  has 
fallen  on  our  outward  ear,  so  certainly  shall  we  be 
judged  for  refusing  to  let  the  inward  ear  of  sympa- 
thy listen.  The  heart  of  the  heathen  is  being 
awakened ;  he  is  questioning,  casting  aw^ay  his 
idols;  he  is  able  to  appreciate  Isaiah's  scorn 
against  those  who  hewed  down  cedars,  burning 
part  thereof  in  the  fire,  and  of  the  residue  thereof 
making  a  god.  His  interest  in  the  Christian  faith 
has  been  aroused,  his  appreciation  of  it  increases. 
Himself  the  judge,  he  is  ready  to  acknowledge  that 
our  Rock  is  better  than  his  rock.  We  know  that 
such  is  the  condition  of  many.  The  cry  of  the  man 
of  Macedonia  is  echoed  through  the  world :  "  Come 
over  and  help  us.  "  That  was  sufficient  proof  to 
direct  Paul's  footsteps;  it  should  satisfy  us.  The 
inarticulate,  tremulous  cry  for  help,  which  voices 


The  Gospel  for  All.  173 

the  hunger  of  the  soul,  which  speaks  of  hopes  and 
aspirations  longing  to  be  satisfied,  —  shall  we  turn 
away  from  such  appeals  ?  You  who  have  eaten  and 
drunken  at  the  table  of  the  Lord  \  who  have  been 
filled  with  His  bounty  ;  who  have  never  known  a 
hunger  and  thirst  for  a  righteousness  as  yet  unre- 
vealed,  —  will  you  turn  from  those  who,  like  the 
Syro-Phoenician  woman,  beg  the  crumbs  of  spiritual 
blessing  which  fall  from  your  table  ?  The  bread  of 
life  which  lies  in  bountiful,  wasteful  excess  before 
you  would  restore  the  breath  of  life  to  many  a 
parched  and  famished  soul;  would  carry  joy,  hap- 
piness, and  peace  to  many  a  burdened  and  despair- 
ing heart.  "  Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters,  and 
after  many  days  it  shall  return  to  thee. " 

As  w^e  think  of  these  things  we  must  recognize 
that  the  command  of  our  Lord,  "Go  ye,"  repre- 
sents the  essence  of  Christian  activity.  He  sends  : 
we  should  go.  Those  that  are  sent  are  apostles, 
messengers,  missionaries.  It  is  not  one,  but  every 
Christian  who  is  sent.  And  have  we  not  reason  to 
believe  that  the  more  faithfully  we  fulfil  the  com- 
mission laid  on  us,  going  forth  in  the  power  of  the 
Lord  and  strong  in  his  might,  the  more  welcome 
will  the  note  of  recall  sound  in  our  ears  :  "  Come 
ye  blessed,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from    the   foundation   of   the   w^orld "  ? 


VI. 
THANKFULNESS. 


VI. 

THANKFULNESS. 

Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  ivho 
hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly  -places  in 
Christ.  .  .  .  In  whom  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood, 
the  forgiveness  of  sins,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  grace, 
wherein  he  hath  abounded  toward  us  in  all  ivisdom  and  pru- 
dence. .  .  .  And  you  hath  he  quickened  who  were  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sin,  icherein  in  time  past  ye  walked  according  to 
the  course  of  this  world;  according  to  the  prince  of  the  power  of 
the  air,  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedi- 
ence. .  .  .  But  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  his  great  love 
wherewith  he  loved  us,  even  ichen  we  were  dead  in  sins,  hath 
quickened  us  together  icith  Christ  (by  grace  ye  are  saved),  and 
hath  raised  us  up  together,  and  made  us  sit  together  in  heavenly 
places  in  Christ  Jesus.  —  Eph.  i.  3,  7,  8  ;  ii.   1,  2,  4-6. 

Of  these  verses,  tlie  first  strikes  the  keynote  of  the 
remarks  wliich  we  liave  to  offer,  while  the  others 
will  be  considered  only  as  they  reflect  light  upon 
the  first.  "  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."  This  is  an  ascription  of  grate- 
ful praise  to  God.  Thankfulness  is  of  the  essence 
of  true  worship ;  it  is  the  resultant  of  all  right 
views  of   our  relation   to   God    and  God's   relation 

to  us.     This    is   true  of   what   is    termed   Natural 

12 


178  Thankfulness. 

Theology ;  it  is  pre-eminently  true  of  Christian 
theology. 

For  the  ordinary  operations  of  God's  providence, 
for  fruitful  seasons  filling  our  hearts  with  joy  and 
gladness,  for  a  well  ordered  state,  for  national 
peace,  —  it  would  be  natural  that  for  such  blessings 
as  these  devout  men  of  every  nation  should  express 
their  gratitude  in  thanksgiving.  But  when  we  con- 
sider the  broader  and  deeper  interpretation  which 
is  given  to  the  ordinary  providence  of  God  through 
the  Christian  faith,  together  with  the  realm  of  new 
truth  and  hitherto  unknown  conceptions  of  God, 
made  manifest  by  the  same  faith,  it  is  then,  and 
then  only,  that  our  hearts  and  minds  are  furnished 
with  the  thoughts  and  emotions  necessary  to  render 
to  God  the  deepest  and  truest  praise  of  which 
redeemed  humanity   is   capable. 

There  are  three  elements  which  determine  our 
gratitude  to  a  deliverer,  whether  he  be  a  savior  in 
great  or  small  things  :  — 

1.  That  from  which  he  has  saved  us. 

2.  That  unto  which  he  has  saved  us. 

3.  The  cost  to  himself  of  our  salvation. 

Let  us  consider  then  the  w^ork  of  God,  our 
Saviour,  under  these  three  aspects,  —  though,  for  the 
sake  of  convenience  in  discussion,  we  may  unite 
the  first  and  second  points  of  view,  since  they  have 
a  reciprocal  relation  and  are  naturally  bound  to- 
gether.    It  is  difficult  to  distinguish  between  a  loss 


Tlianlxfii  Iness.  179 

which  a  man  escapes  and  the  benefit  which  is 
brought  to  him  by  any  saving  act.  To  state  that 
a  man  is  saved  from  death  imphes  that  he  is  saved 
unto  life.  To  state  that  he  w^as  saved  unto  life 
implies  that  he  was   saved  from  death. 

The  close  juxtaposition  of  these  thoughts  is  fre- 
quent throughout  the  Scriptures,  and  it  occurs  in 
the  text  before  us.  "  But  God  .  .  .  even  when  we 
were  dead  in  sins,  hath  quickened  us  together  with 
Christ."  Dead  in  sins  is  the  condition  from  which 
we  have  been  rescued ;  and,  secondly,  there  is  the 
necessary  sequence  of  this  condition,  —  the  judg- 
ment which  awaits  it,  from  which  we  have  been 
rescued.  "  Tribulation  and  anguish,"  says  Saint  Paul 
in  his  letter  to  the  Eomans  (ii.  9),  "  Tribulation  and 
anguish  upon  every  soul  of  man  that  doeth  evil ;  of 
the  Jew,  first,  and  also  of  the  Gentile." 

Our  redemption,  then,  consists  in  a  two-fold  salva- 
tion, —  salvation  from  a  sinful  state  and  salvation 
from  a  lost  destiny.  Let  us  endeavor  to  enter  more 
fully  into  the  meaning  of  this  statement.  Let  us 
consult  the  testimony  of  witnesses, —  men  who  have 
felt  the  power  of  sin  and  who  have  trembled  at  its 
fatal  consequences,  —  and  then  let  us  turn  to  the 
objective  testimony  of  history,  the  change  in  com- 
munities which  has  been  brought  about  by  their 
passage  from  death   to  life. 

Talleyrand,  Prince  of  Benevento,  in  the  state  ; 
Minister   of   Foreign   Affairs   under  Napoleon  and 


180  Thankfulness. 

Louis  XYIII ;  in  the  Church,  a  holder  of  ecclesi- 
astical benefices ;  agent  general  for  the  clergy ; 
Bishop  of  Autun ;  a  man  of  commanding  ability, 
yet  dissolute  in  character  and  unprincipled  in 
diplomacy,  —  has  left  us  this  testimony  to  the  worth 
of  his  life  as  he  had  spent  it :  "  Behold,  eighty- 
three  years  have  passed  away  !  What  cares  !  What 
agitations  !  What  anxieties  !  What  ill  will !  What 
sad  complications  !  And  all  without  other  results 
except  great  fatigue  of  body  and  mind,  a  profound 
sentiment  of  discouragement  for  the  future  and 
disgust  for  the  past." 

To  cite  another  confession  of  the  ruinous  issues 
of  sin,  let  us  visit  the  sick  room  of  Voltaire  during 
his  last  illness.  When  he  first  felt  the  stroke 
which  resulted  in  his  death  he  sent  at  once  for  a 
priest  that  he  might  be  reconciled  to  the  Church. 
His  infidel  flatterers  he  cursed  to  their  faces,  ex- 
claiming, "Begone!  it  is  you  w^ho  have  brought  me 
to  my  present  condition.  Leave  me,  I  say ;  begone ! 
What  a  wretched  glory  is  this  which  you  have 
gained  for  me!"  For  two  months  he  was  tortured 
with  agony  of  mind.  At  times  he  would  plead, 
"  0  Christ !  0  Lord  Jesus ! "  and  then  turning 
away  his  face,  he  would  cry  out  that  he  was  aban- 
doned of  God  and  man. 

To  give  another  illustration  which  furnishes  even 
a  more  explicit  avowal  of  the  wages  of  sin,  let  us 
listen    to   Sir   Francis    Newport,  —  a  man  who   in 


Thankfulness.  181 

early  life  was  trained  in  the  truths  of  the  gospel ; 
but  in  mature  years  entered  upon  a  career  of  infi- 
delity and  dissipation.  At  last,  smitten  with  a  fatal 
disease,  he  was  awakened  to  a  sense  of  truth,  but  to 
truth  which  for  him  was  full  only  of  horror.  To  an 
infidel  companion  who  had  endeavored  to  dispel  his 
painful  thoughts,  he  replied, "  That  there  is  a  God,  I 
know,  because  I  continually  feel  the  effects  of  his 
wrath ;  that  there  is  a  hell,  I  am  equally  certain, 
having  received  an  earnest  of  my  inheritance  there 
already  in  my  breast ;  that  there  is  a  natural  con- 
science, I  now  feel  with  horror  and  amazement, 
being  continually  upbraided  by  it  with  my  impieties, 
and  all  my  sins  brought  to  my  remembrance.  Why 
God  has  marked  me  out  for  his  vengeance  rather 
than  you  or  any  other  of  our  acquaintance,  I  pre- 
sume is  because  I  have  been  more  religiously 
educated  and  have  done  greater  despite  to  the  spirit 
of  grace.  .  .  .  You  imagine  me  melancholy  or  dis- 
tracted. I  wish  I  were  either ;  but  it  is  part  of  my 
judgment  that  I  am  not.  .  .  .  See,  then,  I  have 
despised  my  Maker  and  denied  my  Eedeemer  till 
my  iniquity  was  ripe  for  vengeance ;  and  the  just 
judgment  of  God  overtook  me  when  my  security 
was  the  greatest  and  the  checks  of  my  conscience 
were  the  least." 

Such  confessions  on  the  part  of  men  w^ho  had  re- 
fused the  knowledge  of  God  which  was  open  to 
them,  who  had  closed  their  eyes  to  the  light  which 


182  Tha  nl" f Illness. 

was  shining  upon  tliem,  afford  a  striking  picture  of 
the  wrath  of  God,  which  the  apostle  predicts  as 
coming  on  those  who,  when  they  knew  God,  glori- 
fied Him  not  as  God  ;  and  even  as  thev  did  not  like 
to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them 
over  to  a  reprobate  mind,  who,  knowing  the  judg- 
ment of  God,  that  they  who  commit  such  things  are 
worthy  of  death,  not  only  do  the  same,  but  have 
pleasure  in  them  that  do  them. 

The  commission  to  the  apostles  was  to  preach  the 
gospel  —  the  glad  tidings  —  to  every  creature  (Mark 
xvi.  15).  There  was  none  righteous, —  no,  not  one, 
for  all  had  sinned  (Rom.  iii.,  10,  24),  and  the  wrath 
of  God  was  declared  from  heaven  against  all  such. 
The  certainty  of  judgment  was  declared  against 
every  man  that  doeth  evil.  The  sad  experience  of 
the  men  whose  history  we  have  just  narrated  will  be 
infallibly  sealed  to  us  if  we  obey  not  God ;  if  we 
believe  not  in  Him  whom  He  hath  sent.  There  are 
but  two  classes  of  men  recognized  as  standing  before 
the  judgment  seat  of  Christ,  —  the  saved  and  the 
lost ;  and  the  condition  of  one,  depicted  in  weeping 
and  gnashing  of  teeth,  vividly  represents  the  state 
from  which  the  others  have  been  rescued.  Gather 
together  in  one  the  Biblical  representations  of  the 
final  judgment,  and  contrast  the  agonizing  picture  on 
the  one  hand  with  the  blessedness  and  fulness  of  joy 
on  the  other,  and  it  will  impart  new  fulness  and 
strength  to  our  views  of  salvation. 


Tlianhfidness.  183 

But  forgiveness  from  the  punishment  of  sin  is  one 
aspect  of  salvation ;  deliverance  from  present  sinful- 
ness, from  the  power  and  dominion  of  sin,  is  another. 
Let  us  now  look  at  the  question  broadly,  —  not  tak- 
ing our  lesson  from  individuals,  but  from  types  and 
classes  of  men,  and  by  comparison  gain  clearer 
views  of  this  second  aspect  of  salvation.  Generally 
speaking,  there  have  been  but  two  gospels  advocated 
in  the  world  since  the  birth  of  Christ,  —  one,  freedom 
from  sin ;  the  other,  freedom  to  sin.  These  have 
always  been  antagonistic  to  each  other ;  and  while 
at  times  their  currents  have  been  mingled,  yet  each 
has  been  kept  sufficiently  distinct  from  the  other  to 
enable  us  to  judge  of  the  tendencies  of  each  by  their 
varying  results.  It  will  be  admitted  that,  however 
much  evil  has  resulted  from  the  perversion  of  Chris- 
tianity, that,  nevertheless,  the  moral  superiority  of 
the  modern  over  the  ancient  world  and  the  conse- 
quent amelioration  and  improvement  in  the  lot  of 
mankind  has  been  due  to  the  influences  which 
emanated  from  the  life  and  death  of  Christ.  To 
understand  this  let  us  dwell  for  a  moment  on  two 
or  three  of  the  most  eventful  periods  of  history,  con- 
sidering how  far  the  outward  circumstances  and 
happiness  of  mankind  have  been  dependent  upon 
the  conformity  or  non-conformity  of  their  principles 
and  conduct  to  the  teaching  of  Christ,  and  judging 
by  this  whether  it  is  of  small  moment  for  the 
Christless  to  become  Christian,  —  for   those  to   be 


184  Thankfulness. 

quickened  with  Clirist  who  were  once  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins. 

Let  us  take  for  our  first  outlook  the  earliest  con- 
tact of  Christians  with  heathendom ;  the  dead  wall 
which  was  then  raised  against  the  vices  and  oppres- 
sions of  the  most  civilized  government  of  the  time, — • 
a  wall  which  subject  and  emperor  alike  endeavored 
to  undermine,  but  under  whose  shadow  they  were  at 
last  forced  to  rest. 

Heathen  and  Christian  testimony  concur  in  repre- 
senting the  degeneracy  of  morals  under  pagan  rule 
and  their  resurrection  in  connection  with  the  spread 
of  Christian  truth.  Pliny,  in  his  letter  to  Trajan, 
asserts  that  he  can  discover  nothincf  among  them 
but  a  bloodless  ceremonial  (Merivale  vii.  291),  and  a 
covenant  to  abstain  from  crime.  Tertullian  (Apol. 
7,  9)  offers  the  statement  that,  notwithstanding  the 
sudden  surprises  and  betrayals  of  Christian  meetings, 
they  have  never  been  found  guilty  of  the  crimes 
alleged  against  them,  and  he  arraigns  the  Koman 
world  for  persistency  in  the  crimes  of  which  they 
accuse  others.  It  was  not  immorality,  but  refusal  to 
obey  idolatrous  imperial  edicts  which  led  to  the 
early  persecutions,  —  adherence  to  a  religion  unre- 
cognized and  condemned  by  the  state  was  the 
Christian's  only  fault.  This  loyalty  to  their  faith  (or 
steadfast,  inflexible  obstinacy,  as  Pliny  terms  it)  but 
betrayed  the  sudden  rise  of  moral  forces  which 
would  speedily  become  effectual  in   leavening   the 


Thankfulness.  185 

sodden  mass  of  existing  humanity,  —  forces  which 
would  bring  emperors  and  empires  under  their  con- 
trol, —  and  exhibit  in  changed  and  modified  systems 
of  law  the  healing  influence  which  had  begun  its 
work  upon  the  hearts  and  souls  of  men. 

The  laws  of  Constantine,  Theodosius,  and  Justinian 
reflect  the  growing  spirit  of  Christianity.  To  enu- 
merate examples,  we  find  that  a  merciful  and  humane 
legislation  wrought  a  change  upon  the  institution  of 
slavery.  The  crimes  and  debasing  influences  engen- 
dered by  it  were  greatly  lessened.  Bloody  contests 
felt  a  like  influence ;  and  they  were  first  discounte- 
nanced, then  abolished.  Licentious  shows  were  sur- 
rounded with  restrictions  and  limitations.  The 
exposure  and  abandonment  of  children  was  discoun- 
tenanced, and  its  baleful  results  mitigated.  A  new 
era  in  prison  discipline  was  inaugurated.  Branding 
was  forbidden.  Judges  were  charged  to  visit  the 
jails  lest  corrupt  keepers  should  refuse  humanity  to 
the  imprisoned.  The  time  was  also  marked  by  the 
beginning  of  true  Christian  charity  in  the  erections 
of  hospitals  and  asylums.  Such  was  the  outward, 
visible  effect  of  Christianity  on  the  Eoman  Empire. 
They  do  not  accurately  gauge  the  faith  or  practice  of 
the  Church  itself,  but  they  show  the  restraining 
influence  which  the  Church  had  now  gained  over 
humanity  at  large.  Tyranny,  cruelty,  and  vice 
must  now  bend  their  heads.  Their  time  of 
unlimited  sway  has  passed.     If  such  were  the  effects 


186  Tkanl: fulness. 

of  Christianity  outside  the  Church,  how  much 
greater  were  its  effects  within  !  If  it  had  changed 
and  restrained  public  opinion,  still  more  had  it  con- 
trolled and  dominated  the  individual  life.  Purity 
and  love  and  hope  in  the  Christian  were  contrasted 
with  the  chill  which  had  settled  on  the  heathen's 
natural  affections  and  with  the  despair  which  had 
settled  on  his  thoughts  for  the  future. 

Is  it  necessary  to  follow  further  examples  to 
prove  the  Christian's  debt  to  Christ  for  the  change 
wrought  on  the  face  of  society,  for  the  change 
wrought  in  himself  ?  We  might  pursue  the  course 
of  history  after  the  fall  of  the  Eoman  Empire,  show- 
ing the  power  of  Christianity  to  check  the  coarseness 
of  the  vigorous  barbarian  as  well  as  to  elevate  the 
subjects  of  a  corrupt  civilization.  The  elevation  of 
woman  ;  the  modifications  imposed  upon  the  custom 
of  private  vengeance  ;  the  discouragement  laid  upon 
private  wars ;  changes  in  the  administration  of 
justice ;  the  decline  in  slavery  and  serfdom,  and 
the  spread  of  broader  and  deeper  feelings  of  hu- 
manity,—  such  is  the  trend  of  development  due  to 
the  teachings  of  Christ. 

Let  us  not,  however,  confuse  the  upward  progress 
of  generations  with  the  change  in  the  individual 
soul.  Humanity  is  an  abstraction,  but  men  are  not. 
We  thank  God  for  the  improvement  in  society,  in 
which  improvement  we  share ;  but  we  thank  Him 
first  and  most  because  we  ourselves  are  quickened 


Thankfulness.  187 

and  redeemed  by  Him ;  and  it  is  only  as  the  history 
of  men  and  nations  shows  to  us  what  we  are  with- 
out Him  that  we  thank  Him  the  more. 

The  deeper  our  insight  into  the  benefits  conferred 
by  salvation,  the  greater  will  be  our  appreciation  of 
them  and  the  greater  our  thankfulness  to  Him  who 
is  the  author  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift.  But  if 
w^e  consider  the  benefits  only,  we  shall  miss  from 
our  harmonies  of  praise  the  chord  which  sounds  the 
deepest  note  of  praise  in  earthly  or  in  heavenly 
music.  "Worthy  the  lamb  that  died,"  they  cry, 
"  to  be  exalted  thus."  "  Worthy  the  lamb,"  our  lips 
reply,  "  for  he  was  slain  for  us."  The  cost  of  our 
salvation,  the  price  of  our  redemption,  as  the  fullest, 
most  complete  manifestation  of  the  divine  love, 
as  underlying  and  conditioning  all  else,  as  the 
centre  and  foundation  of  the  Christian's  joy  on  earth 
and  hope  of  heaven,  ever  has  been  and  ever  will 
be  the  most  valued,  the  most  adored  possession  of 
the  Christian  Church ;  and  this  not  merely  as  an 
outward  gift,  but  because  it  brings  most  clearly  to 
view  the  hidden  feelings  of  our  heavenly  Father's 
heart ;  because  it  lays  bare  the  love  of  God  as  it 
had  never  been  laid  bare  before ;  because  it  enables 
us  to  say  our  Father. 

"  The  eternal  power  and  divinity  of  God,"  says 
the  apostle  (Eom.  i.  20),  was  exhibited  to  the 
heathen  world  in  the  material  universe;  His  good- 
ness (Acts  xiv.  17)  was  displayed  in  the  giving  of 


188  Thaiikfidness. 

rain  and  fruitful  seasons  ;  but  His  love  is  measured 
only  by  the  gift  of  His  Son.  "  He  that  spared  not 
His  own  son,  but  delivered  Him  up  for  us  all,  how 
shall  He  not  with  Him  also  freely  give  us  all  things  ? " 
(Rom.  viii.  32).  Christ  is  above  and  before  all 
things.  It  is  natural  that  it  should  be  so.  Man 
values  most  what  costs  him  most;  and  he  prizes  the 
kind  offices  and  gifts  of  friends  as  much  by  their  cost 
as  by  their  usefulness. 

When  David  wished  to  sacrifice  on  the  threshing 
floor  of  Araunah,  the  Jebusite,  he  refused  to  accept 
the  necessities  of  sacrifice  which  were  proffered  him, 
and  said,  "  Nay  ;  but  I  will  surely  buy  it  of  thee 
at  a  price :  neither  will  I  offer  unto  the  Lord  of  that 
which  doth  cost  me  nothing  "  (2  Sam.  xxiv.  24).  In 
this  David  followed  the  spirit  of  the  Mosaic  sacri- 
fices, which  required  that  offerings  to  God  should 
be  of  a  man's  own  possessions,  and  such  as  had 
required  care  and  nurture.  Man  must  not  come 
before  his  Maker  with  gifts  that  had  cost  him  noth- 
msi.  We  thus  discover  in  the  commandments  of 
God  and  written  in  the  instructive  judgments  of 
the  human  heart  that  love  is  measured  by  self- 
sacrifice.  The  greater  the  sacrifice,  the  greater  the 
love  which  lies  behind  it.  "  Greater  love  hath  no 
man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for  his 
friends "  (John  xv.  13).  No  other  sacrifice  is  so 
conspicuous,  so  entire,  no  other  possesses  such 
unmistakable  significance.     We  are  impressed  with 


Thankfulness.  189 

an  exchange  of  station  between  those  occupying 
positions  of  unequal  dignity  and  power;  and  in 
proportion  to  the  contrast  of  position,  the  more 
sensible  we  are  of  the  sacrifice  which  one  has  made 
to  the  other,  and  the  more  readily  we  respond  in 
instant  and  natural  expressions  of  praise. 

Applying  this  to  our  relation  to  Christ,  thought, 
imagination,  loses  itself  in  its  attempts  to  express 
the  transcendent  glory  which  the  creation  of  God 
ascribes  to  Him  who,  being  the  brightness  of  the 
Father's  glory  and  the  express  image  of  His  person, 
"  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister, 
and  to  give  His  life  a  ranison  for  many  "  (Matt.  xx. 
28).  The  Son  of  Man  who  died  to  save  the  ungodly, 
who  died  to  save  sinners,  "  who  His  own  self  bore 
our  sins  in  His  own  body  on  the  tree,  that  we,  being 
dead  to  sins,  should  live  in  righteousness  :  by  whose 
stripes  ye  were  healed  "  (1  Pet.  ii.  24). 

Contrasts,  my  Christian  friends,  are  ever  a  strong 
method  of  stirring  our  innermost  nature  and  awak- 
ening our  deepest  thought.  Small  differences  lose 
their  interest  to  us,  small  sacrifices  are  readily  for- 
gotten ;  but  great  contrasts  which  appear  as  breaks 
in  the  even  strata  of  daily  thought  and  experience 
excite  our  interest  and  become  the  objects  of  our 
study.  Humanity  rushes  in  headlong  haste  to 
gain  the  view  of  dizzy  heights  or  dizzy  depths,  and 
speculation  grows  weary  in  searching  out  the  causes 
which  have  raised  the  mountain  or  sunk  the  plain. 


190  Til  anl"f Illness. 

But  we  should  remember  that  there  are  heights 
and  depths  other  than  those  of  the  material  world. 
We    speak   of   our   higher   nature    and   our    lower 
nature,  of  spiritual  life   and  worldly  life,  of  a  world 
lost,  of  a  world  saved;  but  the  strongest  contrast 
which   we   can    possibly   present   is   that  between 
fallen  man  and  the  Son  of  God.     It  is  as  though 
mountain  heights  had  left  their  proud  eminence  of 
grandeur  and  of  glory  and  had   descended  to  the 
level  of  the  plain,  that  the  plain  in  its  turn  might 
rise  to  the  height  and  majesty  of   the  mountain. 
And  shall  we  be  brought  face  to  face  with  such 
marvellous  changes  in  the  spiritual  world  and  not 
ask  the  reason  of  them  ?     Shall  we  contemplate  the 
varied  surface  of  our  world  and  write  its  history  in 
terms  of  subterranean  fire  and  refuse  to  scrutinize 
the   upheavals   and    depressions    of    the    spiritual 
world?     Or  shall  we,  viewing  the  wonders  of  our 
moral  government,  seek  to  discover  for  moral  effects 
moral  causes  ?     And  when  we  behold  the  Lord  of 
the  universe  becoming  its  servant ;  when  we  behold 
the  God  and  Father  of  all  giving  up  His  only  begot- 
ten son  to  ignominy  and  death,  shall  we  not  look 
for  its  explanation  in  the  hidden  fires  which  burn 
within  our  heavenly  Father's  heart,  and  find  in  the 
greatest  sacrifice  which  heaven  has  made  to  earth  a 
revelation  of   the  infinite  love  which   moulds  and 
sways  the  universe  ? 

"  Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that 


Tlianlcf Illness.  191 

He  loved  us  and  sent  His  Son  to  be  the  propitiation 
for  our  sins  "  (1  John  iv.  10).  ''  Blessed  be  the 
God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath 
blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly 
places  in  Christ "  (Eph.  i.  3). 


THE    END. 


